
Qass. 
Book. 



^^^ 



M E M 1 K S 

OF THE 

GENERALS, COMMODOHES, 

AND OTHER COMMANDERS, 



WHO DISTINliUISlUiD THKMSELVES IN THE 



AMERICAN ARMY AND NAVY 



DURING THE 



WAES OF THE EEVOLUTION AND ISl^ 



WHO WERE PRESENTED WITH MEDALS BY CONGRESS, 
FOR THEIR GALLANT SERVICES. 



BY THOMAS WYATT, A.M., 

AUTHOR OF THE " KINGS 01 FKANCE," ETC. ETC. 



ILLUSTRATED BY" EIGHTY-TWO ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL 
FROM THE ORIGINAL MEDALS. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

PUBLISHED BY CAREY AND HART. 

MDCCCXLVni. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S47, by 

CAREY AND HART, 

In the oflice of tJie Clerk of the District Court for the Eastern District of remisylvania. 



T. K. & P. G. COLLINS, PRLMTERS, 
No. I, Lodge Alley. 



PREFACE. 



Americans, proud of the achievements of their country- 
men, who in the field of honor iiave fought with superior 
valor for the independence or glory of their native land, will 
look with complacency on the decisive stamp of nationalitij 
which a work of this kind necessarily possesses ; while it is 
equally true, that the world will find, in the circumstances of 
the age, or period of the gallant deeds when liberty was so 
nobly asserted, and when the invincibility of the proud " mis- 
tress of the seas" was so successfully contested, a bright page 
of history on which our national pride may justly dwell. 

Here, as in " Old Rome," where the public honors are open 
to the virtue of every citizen, the lives of those heroes who 
have been distinguished by their country's highest rewards, 
will develop virtuous deeds, heroic exertions and patriotic 
efforts, when all now commemorated shall be no more. Nor 
is it difficult to predict, that a like high pre-eminence of vir- 
tue and of public services will long perpetuate the glorious 



IV PREFACE. 

annals of America. It has appeared to us that there has been 
no pubUcation in wliicb the illustrious commanders of our 
two wars, who have been signalized by the presentation of 
gold medals, &c., have been singled out, and their lives illus- 
trated in connection with graphic delineations of the beauti- 
ful and glorious emblems of their country's gratitude. This 
work is now offered to the public as a text-book of men who 
have sealed their patriotic devotion with wounds and scars, 
as well as of historical incidents sacred to patriotism. Our plan 
admits of none of the embellishments of romance ; on the 
contrary it confines itself to the simple facts as they really 
were, giving to each commander that share of bravery and 
virtue which his country has thought proper to signalize by 
the medals, &c., aw^arded him. The biographical scope we 
take admits only of the relation of the principal events of their 
lives, more particularly in the department in which they rose 
to fame, and we have endeavored to do our part with all the 
accuracy that conciseness wdll allow ; leaving to others to give 
more finished and full-sized portraits, which, in judicious 
hands, may be the more entertaining and instructive, as they 
are more in detail. 

We trust, however, though aware it may not be possible to 
avoid some error, or to satisfy every expectation, that from the 
efforts we have made, and the scrupulous impartiality we have 
endeavored to observe, as well as on account of the authentic 
materials which have been kindly furnished us, we shall be 
found to have been successful in our attempt to aid in the 
perpetuation of the fame of men so well entitled to lasting 
celebrity, and to the gratitude of posterity. 



PREFACE. V 

We acknowledge our indebtedness to former historians and 
biographers ; but, in a greater degree, we have to thank those 
officers now Uving who have so kindly supplied us with facts 
drawn from their own private papers, &c. We have also to 
return our most grateful acknowledgments to the representa- 
tives of the illustrious dead who have so cheerfully contributed 
to our materials. 

In conclusion, it is hoped that they, and the public, will 
dwell with pleasure and satisfaction on these pages. 

THE AUTHOR. 



OKNERAL tiEORCK WASlllNCroN. 16 

to relinquish the happiness of his home to act a conspicnons 
part on the p^reat theatre of the world. 

For more than ten years had the eoionios and Iheir motluM- 
country been at variance from causes of usurpation and 
tyranny, and the aw Tnl moment was fast ajiproacbino- v\ licii 
America was to throw olf her fetters and proclaim licrscll' 
free. In 1775, Washin<^ton was elected commaiid(M"-iii-cliiel" 
of llie whole American army. The American army were, at 
the time of this a|)poiidnient, (intrenched on Winter Hill, 
Prospect Hill and lloxbnry, Massachusetts, commniiicatinj^ 
M itb i>ach other by small posts, over a distance of ten miles; 
the h(\ul-quarters of the American army was at Cambridge, 
while the British were cmtrenched on Bunker's Hill, defended 
by three iloatint]^ batteries on Mystic river below. 

Washinoton having- now arrived al tlu^ army, whicli con- 
sisted of fourl(HMi thousand, he was determincnl to brintj;- the 
enemy to an altcM*native, either to evacuate Boston, or risk an 
action, (leneral Howe, the British commander, preferred the 
latter, and ordered three thousand men to fall down the river 
to the castle, to prepare for the attack, but during \\w\r pre- 
parations, they were dispersed by a storm; which so disabl(Ml 
them for their intended attack, that they at last resolved to 
evacuate the town. 

Washington, not wisliing to embarrass the British troops in 
their proposed evacuation, (h^tached part of his army to New 
York, to com[)iete the fortifications there; and with the re- 
mainder, took peaceable possession of Boston, amid the hearty 
congratulations of the inhabitants, who hailed him as their 
deliverer. 

When the Americans took possession of Boston, they found 
a multitude of valuable articles, which were unavoidably left 
by the British army, such as artillery, ammunition, many 



1() GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

woolens and linens, of which the American army stood in 
the most pressing need. 

Washington now directed his attention to the fortifications 
of Boston ; and every effective man in the town volunteered 
his services to devote two days in every week till it was com- 
pleted. By a resolve of Congress of March 25th, 1776, a 
vote of thanks was passed to General Washington and the 
officers and soldiers under his command, for their wise and 
spirited conduct in the siege and acquisition of Boston. Also 
a gold medal to General Washington, of w^hich the following 
is a description : — 

Occasion. — Evacuation of Boston by the British troops. 

Device. — The head of General Washington, in profile. 

Legend. — Georgio Washington, supremo duci exercitum 
adsertori libertatis comitia Americana. 

Reverse. — Troops advancing tow^ards a town which is seen 
at a distance. Troops marching to the river. Ships in view. 
General Washington in front, and mounted, with his staff, 
whose attention he is directing to the embarking enemy. 

Legend. — Hostibus primo Fugatis. 

Exergue. — Bostonium recuperatum 17 Martii, 1776. 



CONTENTS. 



FAG£ 

GEN. GEORGE WASHINGTON, .:.... 9 

GEN. ANTHONY WAYNE, 17 

MAJ. JOHN STEWART, 40 

LIEUT. COLONEL DE FLEURY, 42 

MAJ. ANDRE, CAPTURE OF, - - ' # " ' " ^^ 

GEN. NATHANIEL GREENE, 52 

GEN. HORATIO GATES, 59 

GEN. DANIEL MORGAN, 63 

COL. EAGER HOWARD, 70 

COL. WILLIAM A. WASHINGTON, 79 

MAJ. HENRY LEE, 84 

GEN. WINFIELD SCOTT, 89 

GEN. EDMUND P. GAINES, 101 

GEN. JAMES MILLER, 113 

MAJ.GENERAL JACOB BROWN, 129 

MAJ.-GENERAL RIPLEY, 135 

GEN. PETER B. PORTER, 147 

GEN. ALEXANDER MACOMB, 151 

GEN. ANDREW JACKSON, 160 

GEN. ISAAC SHELBY, 164 



\ 



Mil CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

GEN. WM. HENRY HARRISON, 175 

LIEUT.-COLONEL CROGHAN. 181 

PAUL JONES, 186 

CAPT. THOIMAS TRUXTUN, 193 

COM. EDWARD PREBLE, - - - - - - - 202 

CAPT. ISAAC HULL, 206 

CAPT. JACOB JONES, 214 

CAPT. STEPHEN DECATUR. 222 

COM. BAINBRIDGE. -------- 229 

OLIVER HAZARD PERRY, 236 

C03I. ELLIOTT. 241 

LIEUT. A\TLLL\-M BURROWS, 249 

LIEUT. EDWARD R. 3IcCALL, 257 

CAPT. JAMES LAWRENCE, 261 

CAPT. TH03IAS IVIACDONOUGH, 270 

CAPT. ROBERT HENLEY, 27S 

CAPT. STEPHEN CASSIN, - - - - - - - 281 

COJNI. WARRINGTON, 285 

CAPT. JOHNSTON BLAKELEY, 289 

CAPT. CHARLES STEWART, 297 

CAPT. JAMES BIDDLE, .... . . 307- 



GEN. GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



Among those patriots who have a claim to our veneration, 
George Washington claims a conspicuous place in the first 
rank. The ancestors of this extraordinary man were among 
the first settlers in America; they had emigrated from Eng- 
land, and settled in Westmoreland county, Virginia. George 
Washington, the subject of these memoirs, was born on the 
22d February, 1732. 

At the time our hero was born, all the planters throughout 
this county were his relations — hence his youthful years 
glided away in all the pleasing gayety of social friendship. 
In the tenth year of his age he lost an excellent father, vi^ho 
died in 1742, and the patrimonial estate devolved to an elder 
brother. This young gentleman had been an officer in the 
colonial troops, sent in the expedition against Carthagena. 
On his return, he called the family mansion Mount Vernon, 
in honor of the British admiral with whom he sailed. George 
Washington, when only fifteen years of age, ardent to serve 
his country, then at war with France and Spain, solicited the 
post of midshipman in the British navy, but the interference 
of a fond mother suspended, and for ever diverted him from 
2 



10 GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

the navy. His devoted parent lived to see him acquire higher 
honors than he ever could have obtained as a naval officer ; 
but elevated to the first offices, both civil and military, in the 
oift of his country. She, from long established habits, would 
ot'tcn regret \\\v side her son had taken in the controversy 
between lier king and her country. The first proof that he 
gave of his propensity to arms, was in the year 1751, when 
the office of adjutant-general of the Virginia militia became 
vacant by the death of liis brother, and Mount Venion, Avith 
other estates, came into his possession. Washington, in his 
twentieth year, was made major of one of the militia corps 
of Virginia. Tiie population made it expedient to form three 
(Uvisions. A\'hcn lie was but just twentv-one, he was em- 
ployed by the government of his native colony, in an enter- 
])rise which recjiured the prudence of age as well as the Aigor 
of youth. In the year 1753, the encroachments of the French 
upon the m cstcru boundaries of the British colonies, excited 
such general alarm in Virginia, that Governor Dinwiddi de- 
puted ^^'ashington to ascertain the truth of these nimors ; he 
also was empowered to enter into a treatA' with the Indians, 
and renioiistratc w ith the l"'rcuch upon (heir proceedings. 

On his arrival at the back settlements, he found the cokv 
nists in a very unhappy situation, from the depredations of 
the Indians, who were incessantly instigated by the French 
to the commission of continual aggressions. He found that 
the French had actually established posts within the bounda- 
ries of Virginia. AN'ashington strongly remonstrated against 
such acts o\' hostihtv. and iii the name of his executive, warned 
the French to desist from those incursions. On his retiini, 
his report to the governor was published, and evinced that he 
had performed this honorable mission with great prudence. 

It Avas in consequence of the French calling themselves 
the first European discoverers of the river Mississippi, that 



GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON. 11 

made them claim all that immense region, whose waters run 
into that river. They were proceeding to erect a chain of 
posts from Canada to the Ohio river, thereby connecting 
Canada w^ith Louisiana, and limiting the English colonies to 
the east of the Alleghany mountains. The French w^ere too 
intent on their favorite project of extending their domain in 
America, to be diverted from it by the remonstrances of a 
colonial governor. 

o 

This induced the Assembly of Virginia to raise a regiment 
of three hundred men to defend their frontiers and maintain 
the right claimed by their king. 

Of this regiment, Professor Fry, of William and Mary 
College, was appointed colonel, and George Washington 
lieutenant-colonel. Fry died soon after the regiment was 
embodied, and was succeeded by our hero, who paid unremit- 
ting attention to the discipline of his new corps. The latter 
advanced with his regiment as far as Great Meadow^s, where 
he received intelligence, by the return of his scouts whom he 
had sent on to reconnoiter, that the enemy had built a fort, 
and stationed a large garrison at Duquesne, now Pittsburgh. 
Having now arrived within fifty miles of the French post, 
Washington held a council of war with the other officers, but 
while they were deliberating, a detachment of the French 
came in sight and obliged them to retreat to a savanna called 
the Green Meadows. On an eminence in the savanna they 
began to erect a small fortification, which he named Fort 
Necessity. 

On this redoubt they raised two field-pieces. On the fol- 
lowing day they M^ere joined by Captain McKay, with a 
company of regulars, amounting now to about four hundred 
men. Scarcely had they finished their entrenchments when 
an advanced guard of the French appeared in sight, at w^hich 
the Americans sallied forth, attacked and defeated them ; but 



12 GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

the main body of the enemy, amounting to fifteen hundred 
men, compelled them to retire to their fort. 

The camp was now closely invested, and the Americans 
suffered severely from the grape shot of the enemy, and the 
Indian ritles. ^\'ashington, however, defended the works 
with such skill and bravery, that the besiegers were unable 
to force the entrenchments. After a conflict of ten hours, in 
Avhicli one hundred and fifty of the Americans were killed 
and wounded, they were obliged to capitulate. They were 
permitted to march out with the honors of war, to retain their 
arms and baggage, and to march unmolested into the inhabited 
parts of Virginia. The legislature of Virginia, impressed 
with a hioh sense of the bravery of our vouns; officer, voted 
their thanks to him and the officers under his command, and 
three hundred pistoles to be distributed among the soldiers 
engaged in this action. 

Great Britain now began to think seriously of these con- 
troversies, and accordingly dispatched two regiments of 
veteran soldiers from Ireland, commanded by General Brad- 
dock. These arrived early in 1755, and their commander, 
being informed of the talents and bravery of George AVash- 
ington. invited him to serve in the campaign as his aid-de- 
camp. 

The invitation was joyfully accepted by AVasliington. who 
joined General Braddock near Alexandria, and proceeded to 
Fort Cumberland : here they were detained, waiting for pro- 
visions, horses, wagons, &c.. until the 12th of June. AVash- 
inoton had recommended the use of pack horses, instead of 
waoons, for conveying the baogage of the army. Braddock 
soon saw the propriety of it and adopted it. The state of the 
countrv. at this period, often obliged them to halt to level the 
road, and to build bridges over inconsiderable brooks. They 
consumed four davs in travelinir over the first ninete-en miles. 



GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON. 13 

On the 9th of July they reached the Monongahela, within a 
few miles of Fort Duquesne, and pressing forward, without 
any apprehension of danger, a dreadful conflict ensued ; the 
army was suddenly attacked in an open road, thick set with 
grass. 

An invisible enemy, consisting of French and Indians, 
commenced a heavy and well directed fire on the uncovered 
troops. The van fell back on the main body, and the whole 
was thrown into disorder. Marksmen leveled their pieces 
particularly at the officers and others on horseback. 

In a short time, Washington was the only aid-de-camp left 
alive and not wounded. On him, therefore, devolved the 
whole duty of carrying the general's orders. He w^as, of 
course, obliged to be constantly in motion, traversing the field 
of battle on horseback in all directions. He had two horses 
shot under him, and four bullets passed through his coat, but 
he escaped unhurt, though every other officer on horseback 
was either killed or wounded. The battle lasted three hours, 
in the course of which General Braddock had three horses 
shot under him, and finally received a wound, of which he 
died soon after the action was over. On the fall of Braddock, 
his troops gave way in all directions, and could not be rallied 
till they had crossed the Monongahela. The Indians, allured 
by plunder, did not pursue. The vanquished regulars soon 
fell back to Dunbar's camp, from which, after destroying such 
of the stores as they could spare, retired to Philadelphia. 

Washington had cautioned the gallant but unfortunate 
general in vain ; his ardent desire of conquest made him deaf 
to the voice of prudence ; he saw his error w4ien too late, and 
bravely perished in his endeavors to save the division from 
destruction. Amid the carnage, the presence of mind and 
abilities of Washington were conspicuous; he rallied the 
troops, and, at the head of a corps of grenadiers, covered the 



14 GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

rear of the division, and secured their retreat over the ford of 
Monongahela. 

Kind Providence preserved him for great and nobler ser- 
vices. Soon after this transaction, the regulation of rank, 
which had justly been considered as a grievance by the colo- 
nial officers, was changed in consequence of a spirited remon- 
strance of Washington; and the governor of Virginia re- 
warded this brave young officer with the command of all the 
troops of that colony. The troops under his command were 
gradually inured in that most difficult kind of warfare called 
bush-lighting, while the activity of the French and ferocity 
of the Indians were overcome by his superior valor. 

Washington received the most flattering marks of public 
approbation ; but his best reward was the consciousness of his 
own integrity. 

In the course of this decisive campaign, which restored the 
tranquillity and security of the middle colonies, Washington 
had suffered many hardships which impaired his health. He 
was afflicted with an inveterate pulmonary complaint, and 
extremely debilitated, insomuch that, in the year 1759, he 
resigned his commission and retired to Mount A'ernon. By 
a due attention to regimen, in the quiet bowers of Mount 
Vernon, he gradually recovered from his indisposition. 

During the tedious period of his convalescence, the British 
troops had been victorious ; his country had no more occasion 
for the exertion of his military talents. In 1761, he married 
the young widow of Colonel Custis, who had left her sole 
executrix to his extensive possessions, and guardian to his 
two children. The union of Washington with this accom- 
plished lady was productive of their mutual felicity ; and as 
he incessantly pursued agricultural improvements, his taste 
embellished and enriched the fertile fields around Mount Ver- 
non. But the time was approaching when AA^ashington was 



GEN. ANTHONY WAYNE. 



Anthony Wayne, of whose military career America has 
much to boast, the son of a respectable farmer in Chester 
county, Pennsylvania, was born on the 1st of January, 1745. 
His propensities and pursuits being repugnant to the labors 
of the field, his father resolved to give him an opportunity of 
pursuing such studies as his acquirements might suggest, and 
accordingly placed him under the tuition of a relative of eru- 
dition and acquirements, who was teacher of a country school. 
Our young hero was by no means an attentive student ; his 
mind seemed, like the young Napoleon, bent on a military 
life, for instead of preparing his lessons for recitation during 
his leisure hours, he employed himself in ranging his play- 
mates into regiments, besieging castles, throwing up redoubts, 
&c. &c. 

He was removed from the county school into an academy 
of repute in Philadelphia, where he soon became an expert 
mathematician, sufficiently so, that on his leaving school he 
became a land surveyor, with a very respectable and lucrative 
business. At the persuasion of Dr. Franklin, he removed to 
Nova Scotia, as agent for a company of settlers about to 
repair to that province on a scheme of emigration. 
3 



18 GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 

As an able negotiator he acquitted himself honorably, and 
returned to Pennsylvania, where he married the daughter of 
Benjamin Penrose, an eminent merchant of Philadelphia, and 
settled once more on a farm in his native county. The aspect 
of affairs between the mother country and the provinces at 
this time convinced our young hero that desperate means 
must soon be resorted to to prevent invasion from abroad and 
insurrection at home. Satisfied that the controversies between 
the tw^o countries w^ould only be adjusted by the sword, he 
determined to apply himself to military discipline and tactics, 
that whenever his country required it, he might devote his 
energies in raising and preparing for the field a regiment of 
volunteers. The moment arrived, and young Wayne was 
only six weeks in completing a regiment, of which he was 
unanimously chosen colonel. . At the sound of taxation the 
undaunted spirit of liberty burst forth, and thousands of 
young and fearless patriots thronged around the sacred banner 
to enrol themselves in a cause which must eventually end 
in freedom. New^s of the opening of the revolution at Bun- 
ker's Hill and Lexington arrived, and Washington, who had 
accepted the command of the army, repaired to the seat of war. 

Congress, now sitting at Philadelphia, called upon the 
colonies for regiments to reinforce the northern army, and the 
one raised by the exertions of Anthony Wayne was the first 
called into service, and upon him was conferred the command. 
His orders to join General Lee at New York were quickly 
obeyed, whence he proceeded with his regiment to Canada, to 
be stationed at the entrance of Sorel river. 

Shortly after his arrival there, news arrived that a detach- 
ment of six hundred British light infantry were advancing 
toward a post called Trois Rivieres (Three Rivers). Anxious 
to check their advance, or strike before they could concentrate 



GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 19 

their forces, three regiments, commanded by Wayne, St. Clair 
and Irvine, commenced their march for that purpose. Un- 
fortunately, however, untoward circumstances compelled them 
to retreat with considerable loss of men, and Colonels Wayne 
and St. Clair severely wounded. The movements now de- 
volved upon Wayne, w^ho collected the scattered troops and 
returned to his former post at Sorel river, w^here he remained 
but a short period, being followed by a heavy British column, 
giving- him only sufficient time to leave the fort before the 
enemy entered it. The retreat was made good by the able 
conduct of Wayne, who, with his stores and baggage, safely 
arrived at Ticonderoga. 

At a consultation among the generals it was determined 
that at this post they should take their stand. After recon- 
noitering the fortifications, and finding them so well prepared 
to resist an attack, the British general re-embarked his forces 
and retired to Canada. 

Immediately on the withdrawal of the British troops. 
General Gates repaired to Washington's army, leaving Colonel 
Wavne in entire charfre of Ticonderoga. This hiffh com- 
pliment paid to Colonel Wayne, agreeable to the troops and 
approved of by Congress, caused the gallant soldier to be pro- 
moted to the rank of Brifradier-g-eneral. He remained at this 
post six months, when, Washington having marched his main 
army into Jersey, General Wayne solicited permission to join 
him, which he did at Bound Brook, a few miles from Bruns- 
wick, in New Jersey. Soon after the arrival of Wayne, 
General Howe, having received reinforcements from England, 
at New York, took up his line of march across Jersey, in 
order to intercept the American army before reaching Phila- 
delphia. Washington conceived the })lan of General Howe to 
be to surprise the city of Philadelphia and disperse the con- 
gressional assembly, who were then sitting there ; he accord- 



20 GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 

ingly dispatched Wayne and his troops to meet and strike 
them, in order to resist their passage at Chad's Ford. This 
was done, and a sharp conflict ensued, which was gallantly 
kept up until late in the evening, when it was thought pru- 
dent to retreat; the loss sustained by the Americans was 
stated to be three hundred killed and four hundred taken 
prisoners. The statement given by the British general him- 
self, was one hundred killed and four hundred wounded, but 
which was afterwards ascertained to be nearly double that 
number. In this battle the young patriot Lafayette first drew 
his sword in the cause of America s freedom, and although 
severely wounded in his leg at the very onset of the battle, 
he continued to cheer and encourage his soldiers, (with the 
blood flowing from his wound, having bound his sash around 
it,) till the end of the conflict. 

The British, taking a circuitous route, now marched with 
all haste towards Philadelphia, and Washington wishing to 
give them the meeting before reaching the city, retired to 
Chester, where both armies met at some distance from the 
Warren tavern, on the Lancaster road. General Wayne 
commenced the action with great spirit, but a violent storm 
came on which rendered it impossible for the battle to con- 
tinue, and each army withdrew from the field. 

Washington, in order to save Philadelphia, with the main 
army fell back and crossed the Schuylkill at Parker's ferry, 
leaving General Wayne with about fifteen hundred men to 
watch the enemy, who had retreated back about three miles. 
After remaining at that post for four days, he was apprised of 
the near approach of the British army, and after giving three 
distinct orders to one of his colonels to lead off" by another road 
and attack the enemy in the rear, which order was not under- 
stood, and consequently not obeyed, gave the British time to 
come upon them before they could make good their retreat. 



GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 21 

The enemy fell upon them with the cry of " No quarters," 
and one hundred and fifty of his brave men were killed and 
wounded in this barbarous massacre. The next battle at 
which this valiant soldier distinguished himself, was at Ger- 
mantown. The British having taken a position in the imme- 
diate vicinity of that village. General Wayne, moving with 
much secrecy, attacked them in their camp at the dawn of day, 
but after many hours of hard fighting and a succession of un- 
toward circumstances, was obliged to retreat. The loss of the 
Americans in this action, was one hundred and fifty-two killed, 
five hundred and twenty-one wounded, and four hundred 
taken prisoners; the loss of the British was eight hundred 
killed and w^ounded. 

The British army remained in nearly the same position 
till the 26th of October, when General Howe, with a detach- 
ment of his troops, took peaceable possession of Philadelphia. 
Watson, in his Annals of Philadelphia, says, — "As they 
entered the city. Lord Cornwallis at their head led the van. 
They marched down Second street without any huzzaing or 
insolence whatever, and the citizens thronged the sidewalks 
with serious countenances, looking at 4hem. The artillery 
were quartered in Chestnut street, between Third and Sixth 
streets. The State House yard was made use of as a parade 
ground." 

Congress had previously been removed to Lancaster, in the 
interior of the state, sixty miles from Philadelphia. Wash- 
ington and his army were posted at White Marsh, about four- 
teen miles from Philadelphia, and in order to draw the com- 
mander-in-chief from his strong position, the British general, 
Howe, marched his soldiers to the neighborhood of the Ame- 
rican lines, and after many demonstrations of attack, finding 
that Washington was not disposed to bring on another action, 
retreated again to the city. This gave Washington an oppor- 



22 GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 

tunity of proceeding to Vallej Forge, where, in the month 
of December, with his almost famished and naked soldiers, 
they cheerfully commenced building huts with their own hands 
in the woods. Early in January, General Wayne repaired 
to Lancaster, where the government was then located, to use 
his exertions in raising supplies, both of provisions and cloth- 
ing, for the army. 

In part did he succeed, but the scarcity of provisions be- 
coming so great, that Washington was at length compelled to 
detach a body of troops, under General Greene, with orders 
to obtain " an immediate supply of provisions by any means 
within his power." This was done by seizing every animal 
fit for slaughter ; and by this means the immediate wants of 
the starving troops were supplied. 

In order to prevent a similar deplorable state of want, our 
gallant hero, wdio knew no danger, in the month of February, 
a most inclement season, left the army with a body of troops 
on an expedition to New Jersey, to secure cattle on the banks 
of the Delaware. 

This, of all others, was a dangerous enterprise, for the British 
were wintering in detachments in many places near the Dela- 
ware. However, in our hero bravery knew no fear, and for 
the relief of his suffering soldiers he was determined to attack 
and wrest from the British, (whenever he came in contact,) 
provisions for his men and sustenance for his horses. After 
several skirmishes, which might really be termed battles, he 
succeeded, by his soldier-like and judicious management, in 
capturing from them and sending to the American camp seve- 
ral hundred fine cattle, some excellent horses, and a large 
amount of forage. About the middle of March he returned to 
Valley Forge, to receive the thanks of his commander-in- 
chief and the blessings of the army. The British remained 
in quiet possession of Philadelphia till the 18th of June fol- 



GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 23 

lowing, when they commenced their march through Jer.sey. 
On the same day Washington left Valley Forge in order to 
follow them, and on the 24th encamped about five miles from 
Princeton, while the British had encamped at Allentown. 
During the winter General Howe had requested to be recalled, 
and the command now devolved upon Sir Henry Clinton. 
"Wayne, with four thousand men, was ordered, accompanied 
by Lafayette, with one thousand men, to take a position near 
Monmouth Court-house, about five miles in the rear of the 
British camp, in order to prevent their reaching the High- 
lands of New York. Washington, who had determined to 
attack the British the moment they moved from their ground, 
received intelligence on the morning of the 28th of June that 
they were on their way. The troops were immediately under 
arms, and General Lee ordered to march on and attack the 
rear, as the enemy advanced towards the troops of Wayne 
and Lafayette. This was done, and the Americans, though 
much fatigued by their previous march, fought with such 
determined bravery that the British gave way. Taking 
advantage of the night, which saved them from a total rout, 
they w^ithdrew to the heights of Middletown, leaving behind 
them two hundred and forty-five killed of their soldiers, and 
many of their officers ; others they had before interred. The 
following is an extract of a letter of Wayne to a friend :- 

'* Paramus, Wh Jtdi/, 117S. 

" We have been in perpetual motion ever since we crossed 
the Delaware antil yesterday, when we arrived here, w^here 
we .shall be stationary for a few* days, in order to recruit a 
little after the fatigue which we have experienced in march- 
ing through deserts, burning sands, &c. &c. 

" The enemy, sore from the action of the 28th ult., seemed 



24 GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 

inclined to rest also. They are now in three divisions ; one 
on Long Island, another on Staten Island, and a third in New 
York. 

"The victory on that day turns out to be much more con- 
siderable than at first supposed. An officer who remained on 
the ground two or three days after the action, says that nearly 
three hundred British had been buried by us on the field, and 
numbers discovered in the woods, exclusive of those buried 
by the enemy, not much short of one hundred. So that by 
the most moderate calculation, their killed and wounded must 
amount to eleven hundred, the flow^er of their army, and 
many of them of the richest blood of England. 

" Tell those Philadelphia ladies who attended Howe's assem- 
blies and levees, that the heavenly, sweet red-coats, the accom- 
plished gentlemen of the guards and grenadiers, have been 
humbled on the plains of Monmouth. These knights have 
resigned their laurels to rebel officers, who will lay them at 
the feet of those virtuous daughters of America, who cheer- 
fully gave up ease and affluence in a city, for liberty and 
peace of mind in a cottage. 

" Adieu, and believe me 

" Yours most sincerely, 

"Anthony Wayne." 

The British commander, having in the night escaped from 
his adversary, took a strong position on the high grounds 
about Middletown, where remaining, however, but a few* days, 
he proceeded to Sandy Hook, and passed over to New York. 

Washington, at this time, proceeded by slow and easy 
marches to the Highlands of the Hudson. 

It was his intention to fortify W^est Point, and the High- 
lands of the North River ; accordingly the works at Stony 
and Verplanck's Points were commenced for that purpose, 



GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 25 

pose, yet only on Verplanck's a small but strong work had 
been completed and garrisoned by seventy men, under Cap- 
tain Armstrong, while the works on Stony Point, of much 
greater extent and of incomparably more importance, were 
unfinished. To secure these valuable positions was a matter 
of great magnitude both to the British as well as American 
commander-in-chief; hence was the determination of fortifying 
the Highlands, so as to comprehend within it these important 
positions. To arrest the progress of these fortifications, Sir 
Henry Clinton sailed with a fleet up the Hudson, and landed 
his troops in two divisions ; the one under General Vaughan, 
destined against the works at Verplanck's on the east side of 
the river — the other, which he commanded in person, against 
those of Stony Point, on the west side. The fortifications 
on Stony Point being unfinished, were abandoned without 
resistance, on the approach of the enemy, who instantly com- 
menced dragging some heavy cannon and mortars to the 
summit of the hill, and on the next morning about sunrise 
opened a battery on Fort Fayette, erected on Verplanck's, the 
distance across being about one thousand yards. 

The cannonade during the day, from the very commanding 
position of Stony Point, as also from vessels and gun-boats 
in the river, occasioned much injury to the fort ; which, being 
invested both by water and land, and no means of saving the 
garrison now remaining, Captain Armstrong, (who had com- 
mand,) after a gallant resistance, was compelled to surrender 
himself and troops prisoners of w^ar. Sir Henry proceeded 
immediately to place both forts in what he supposed a perfect 
state of defence, especially that of Stony Point, which he 
garrisoned with six hundred men, under the command of an 
officer distinguished for his bravery and circumspection. In 
consequence of Washington being now at West Point, Sir 
Henry declined a further movement up the Hudson, but re- 
4 



26 GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 

mained with his army at Phillipsburg, about midway between 
New York and Stony Point. Immediately on the arrival of 
Wayne at head quarters, Washington commenced laying 
plans for the recapture of Stony Point, and in a conference 
between the commander-in-chief and Wayne, the latter, em- 
phatically to express his wilhngness to undertake the perilous 
enterprise, is said to have remarked: — '-General, if you will 
only plan it, I will storm HellF' 

As no industry had been wanting in completing or repairing 
the ^\ orks at Stony Point, which the length of possession by 
the British would admit of, that post was now in a very strong 
state of defence ; its garrison consisted of the seventeenth 
regiment of foot, the grenadier companies of the seventy-first 
and some artillery ; the whole under the command of Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Johnson. The garrison at Verplanck's was 
under the conduct of Lieutenant Colonel Webster, and was 
at least equal in force to that of Stony Point. General 
W^ayne was appointed to the difficult and arduous task of 
surprising and storming Stony Point, for which Washington 
provided him with a strong detachment of the most active 
infantry in the American service. These troops had a dis- 
tance of about fourteen miles to travel over high mountains, 
throuoh deep morasses, difficult defiles and roads exceedingly 
bad and narrow, so that they could only move in single files 
durino; the greatest })art of their journey. About eight o'clock 
in the evening of the 15th of July, the van arrived within a 
mile and a half of their object, where they halted, and the 
troops were formed into two columns as fast as they came up. 
W^hile they were in this position, Wayne, with most of his 
principal officers, went to reconnoitre the works, and to observe 
the situation of the garrison. It was near midnight before 
the two colunnis approached the place ; that on the riglit, 
consisting of Febiger and Meigs' regiments, was led by Gene- 



GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 27 

ral Wayne. The van, consistincr of one hnndred and fifty 
picked men, led by the most adventurous officers, and com- 
manded by Lieutenant Colonel Fleury, advanced to the attack, 
with unloaded muskets and fixed bayonets. They were pre- 
ceded by an avant-guard, consisting of an officer of the most 
distinguished courage, accompanied by twenty of the most 
desperate private men, who, with other officers, were in- 
tended to remove the abatis, and whatever obstructions lay 
in the way of the succeeding troops. The column on the 
left, was led by a similar chosen van, with unloaded muskets 
and fixed bayonets, under the command of Major Stewart; 
and that was also preceded by a similar avant-guard. The 
general issued the most positive orders to both columns, (which 
they strictly adhered to,) not to fire a shot on any account, 
but to place their whole reliance on the bayonet. The two 
attacks seem to have been directed to opposite points of the 
works; whilst a detachment under Major Murfree engaged 
the attention of the garrison, by a feint in their front. They 
found the approaches more difficult than even their know- 
ledge of the place had induced them to expect; the works 
being covered by a deep morass, which, at this time, hap- 
pened to be overflowed by the tide. 

The general, in his official papers, says, "that neither the 
deep morass, the formidable and double rows of abatis, or the 
strong works in front and flank could damp the ardor of his 
brave troops ; who, in the face of a most incessant and tre- 
mendous fire of musketry, and of cannon loaded with grape- 
shot, forced their way at the point of the bayonet through 
every obstacle, until the van of each column met in the centre 
of the works, where they arrived at nearly the same time." 
General Wayne was wounded in the head by a musket-ball, 
as he passed the last ahatis ; but was gallantly supported and 
assisted through the works by his two brave aids-de-camp, 



28 GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 

Fislibourn and Archer, to whom he acknowledges the utmost 
gratitude in his pubhc letter. Colonel Fleury, a French offi- 
cer, had the honor of striking the British standard with his 
own hand, and placing in its room the American stars and 
stripes. Major Stewart and several other officers received 
great praise ; particularly the two Lieutenants Gibbons and 
Knox, one of whom led the avant-guard on the right, and 
the other on the left. Both, however, had the good fortune 
to escape unhurt, although Lieutenant Gibbons lost seventeen 
men out of twenty in the attack. 

There is nothing in the annals of war which affiDrds more 
room for surprise, and seems less to be accounted for, than 
the prodigious disparity between the numbers slain in those 
diffisrent actions, which seem otherwise similar or greatly to 
correspond in their principal circumstances, nature and mag- 
nitude. Nothing could well be supposed, from its nature and 
circumstances, more bloody, in proportion to the numbers 
engaged, than this action ; and yet the loss on both sides was 
exceedingly moderate. 

Nothing could exceed the triumph of America and Ameri- 
cans generally, upon the success of this enterprize, and the 
vigor and spirit with which it was conducted. 

It must, indeed, be acknowledged, that considered in all its 
parts and difficulties, it would have done honor to the most 
veteran soldiers. General Washington, the Congress, the 
General Assembly, and the Supreme Executive Council of 
Pennsylvania, were emulous in their acknowledgments, and 
in the praises which they bestowed upon General Wayne, 
his officers and troops. In these they particularly applaud 
the humanity and clemency shown to the vanquished, when, 
by the laws of war, and stimulated by resentment from the 
remembrance of former cruelty received from the British, 



GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 29 

they would have been justified in putting the whole garrison 
to the sword. 

As soon as Stony Point was taken, the artillery was 
directly turned against Verplanck's, and a furious cannonade 
ensued which necessarily obliged the shipping at the latter 
place to cut their cables and fall down the river. The news 
of this disaster, and of Webster's situation, who also expected 
an immediate attack on the land side, no sooner reached Sir 
Harry Clinton, than he took the most speedy measures 
for the relief of Verplanck's. The whole British land and 
naval force was in motion. But, however great the import- 
ance or value of Stony Point and Verplanck's, Washington 
was by no means disposed to hazard a general engagement on 
their account ; more especially in a situation where the com- 
mand of the river would afford such decisive advantages to 
his enemy in the disposition and sudden movement of their 
troops, whether with respect to the immediate point of action, 
or to the seizing of the passes, and cutting off the retreat of 
his army, as might probably be attended with the most fatal 
consequences. 

In his letter to Congress, he says, that it had been pre- 
viously determined in council not to attempt keeping that 
post, and that nothing more was originally intended than the 
destruction of the works and seizing the artillery and stores. 
This adventurous and daring feat kept the advanced posts of 
the British in a state of serious alarm. 

By the journals of Congress for July 26, 1779, it appears 
that the attack on the fort at Stony Point was ordered by 
General Washington on the 10th of July. General Wayne 
issued his orders on the 15th, on the night of which day the 
attack was made. The prisoners taken were five hundred and 
forty-three ; not a musket was fired by the Americans ; and 
although the laws of war and the principle of retaliation for 



30 GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE*. 

past cruelty, would have justified the sacrifice of the garrison, 
yet not a man was killed who asked for quarters. Soon after 
this gallant action, General Wayne repaired to his family 
in Chester county, and thence to the seat of Government, 
to use his exertions in stimulating the councils of the nation 
in behalf of the suffering army, one-half of which was at 
this time nearly barefooted, and otherwise destitute of com- 
forts. As the winter was now approaching, Washington was 
preparing to take up his quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, 
in order to restrain the British, who were then stationed at 
New York, from incursions into the adjacent country. 

In May, 1780, Wayne was ordered to repair to the camp at 
Morristown, and resume his command in the Pennsylvania 
line. Little more than useless inarches, and casual skirmishes 
with the enemy was accomplished during this year. 

In November of the same year Wayne appears before his 
government supplicating supplies for his soldiers. This he ac- 
complished, and returned in December to his winter quarters 
at Morristown, where he remained till the end of February, 
1781. Receiving orders to join the southern army under 
General Greene, now in Virginia, Wayne accordingly com- 
menced collecting his troops ; but, from so many and un- 
accountable delays, it was May before he could concentrate 
them at York, Pennsylvania. Early in June the Pennsyl- 
vania troops, eleven hundred in number, formed a junction 
with Lafayette, whom they met in A^irginia, and determined 
at once to march aofainst Cornwallis, who was now retreatinor. 
Lafayette held a position about twenty miles in the rear of 
the British, whilst the advanced corps of Wayne kept within 
eio^ht or nine miles, with the intention of commencingr an 
attack on the rear guard, after the main body should have 
passed the river. Lafayette, having received intelligence that 
the enemy were preparing to cross the James river, he imme- 



GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 31 

diately took a position at Chickahominy church, eight miles 
above Jamestown. Early the following morning, Wayne 
believing that the main army of the British had effected its 
passage, was determined to march forward and attack the rear 
guard ; but upon arriving within sight he found he was mis- 
taken, and that he had now to confront the whole British 
force with only five hundred men ; the only safe mode which 
he could now calculate upon, was that of attacking vigorously 
and retreating precipitately. " For," said he, "moments decide 
the fate of battles," and accordingly the firing was commenced 
with great firmness at three o'clock, and continued till five in 
the afternoon. 

In this severe but orallant action one hundred and eight of 
the Continental troops were killed, wounded and taken ; most 
of the officers were severely wounded, and many of the field 
officers had their horses killed under them. Lafayette, in his 
official notice of this action, says — " From every account the 
enemy's loss has been very great, and much pains taken to 
conceal it." 

In a letter from General Washington to Wayne, he adds : — 
"The Marquis Lafayette speaks in the handsomest manner 
of your owm behavior, and that of the troops, in the action 
at Green Spring. I think the account which Lord Cornwallis 
will be obliged to render of the state of southern aff'airs, will 
not be very pleasing to ministerial eyes and ears, especially 
after what appears to have been their expectations by their 
intercepted letters of March last. I am in hopes that Vir- 
ginia will be soon, if not before this time, so far relieved as to 
permit you to march to the succor of General Greene, who, 
with a handful of men, has done more than could possibly 
have been expected; should he be enabled to maintain his 
advantage in the Carolinas and Georgia, it cannot fail of 
having the most important political consequences in Europe." 



32 GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 

The movementxS of Cornwallis indicated a permanent post at 
Yorkto\vn, a short distance np the York river, Avhere he had 
removed the principal jmrt of his forces, and commenced his 
fortifications. Washington hearing of tliis movement, com- 
manded Latavette to take early measures to intercept the 
retreat of CornwaUis, shonki he discover the intended bk^w. 
and attempt a retreat bv North Carohna. 

At the interposition of the Marquis Lafayette with his 
oovernment, a French tleet. consisting of three thousand troops, 
Mere equipped and dispatched to the assistance of struggling 
America : antl on the '2d September landed at Burwelks Ferry, 
near this place. Lafayette, who was encamped about ten miles 
from General AVayne, on hearing of the arrival of the French 
fleet, requested an interview with him. In a letter to a friend, 
AVayne describes an accident that occurred to him on his 
way thither : — '• After the landing of the French fleet, and 
pointing out to them the most proper position for their en- 
campment, I received an express from the Marquis Lafayette, 
to meet him on business of importance that evening. I pro- 
ceeded accordinolv. attended bvtwo orentlemen and a servant. 
AVhen we arrived in the vicinity of the camp, about ten 
o'clock at nioht, we were challenged by a sentry, and we 
nrade the usual answer, but the poor fellow being panic-struck, 
mistook us for the enemv, and shot me in the centre of the 
left thigh : then tied and alarmed the camp. Fortunately, the 
ball onlv crazed the bone, and loilged on the opposite side to 
which it entered." The main works of Cornwallis were at 
his stronglv fortified garrison at Yorktown, on the York river. 
He also occupied Gloucester, on the opposite side, where he 
erected works to keep up the communication with the country. 
General Washington reached the neighborhood of this inte- 
resting scene of operation on the 1 4th of September, and im- 
mediately proceeded on board the Ville de l\u-is. (flag-ship of 



GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 33 

the French admiral,) where the plan of the siege was con- 
certed. 

Subjoined is an extract of General Wayne's diary of the 
siege of Yorktown and capture of Lord Cornwallis : 

*' On the 28th of September, 1781, General Washington 
put the combined army in motion, at five o'clock in the morn- 
ing, in two columns, (the Americans on the right and the 
French on the left,) and arrived in view of the enemy's lines 
at York about four o'clock in the afternoon. 

" 29th. Completed the investiture. The enemy abandoned 
their advanced chain of works this evening, leaving two 
redoubts perfect within cannon-shot of their principal fortili- 
cations. 

" 30th. The allied troops took possession of the ground 
vacated by the British, and added new works. 

" 1st October. The enemy discovering our works com- 
menced a cannonade, continuing through the day and night 
with very little effect. 

*• 2d. Two men killed by the enemy's fire. 

" 3d. A drop-shot from the British killed four men from 
the covering party. 

" 4th. The redoubts were perfected ; the enemy's fire lan- 
guid. 

"5th. Two men killed by rocket-shot 

"6th. Six regiments, viz., one from the right of each 
brigade marched^ at six o'clock, P. M., under the command of 
Major General Lincoln and Brigadier Generals Clinton and 
Wayne, and opened the first parallel within five hundred and 
fifty yards of the enemy's works and their extreme left, which 
was continued by the French to the extreme right. 

" 7th. The parallel nearly complete, without any opposi- 
tion, except a little scattered fire of musketry, and a feeble 
5 



34 GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 

tire of artillery, b}' which a few of the French troops were 
wounded and one officer lost his leg. 

" 8th. Completed the first parallel ; two of the Pennsjl- 
vanians were Idlled by rocket-shot. 

"9tli. At three o'clock P. M., the French opened a twelve 
gun battery on the extreme right of the enemy ; and at five 
o'clock the same day, a battery of ten pieces was opened on 
their extreme left, by the Americans, with apparent effect. 

'' 10th. At daybreak three more batteries were opened, (one 
of five heavy pieces by the Americans, and two containing 
twenty-two by the French,) opposite the centre of the British 
works ; at five P. M., another American battery of two ten inch 
howitzers was also opened, which produced so severe a fire, 
that it in a great degree silenced that of the enemy ; at seven 
o'clock P. M., the Caron, of forty-four guns, was set on fire 
by our balls and totally consumed. 

" 11th. Second parallel opened this night by the Pennsyl- 
vanians and Marylanders, covered by two battalions under 
General Wayne, on the part of the Americans. 

" 12th. Nothing material. 

" 13th. That part of the second parallel which was opened, 
nearly completed. 

'' 14th. A little after dark, two detached redoubts belonging 
to the enemy were stormed ; that on the extreme left by the 
light infantry, under the Marquis Lafayette, in which were 
taken a major, captain, and one subaltern, seventeen privates, 
and eight rank and file killed. 

" Our army lost, in killed and wounded, forty-one. The 
other M as carried by the French, under the Baron de Viomi- 
nial, mIio lost, in killed and wounded, about one hmidred 
men. Of the enemy eighteen were killed, and three officers 
and thirty-nine privates were made prisoners. The above 
attacks were supported by two battalions of the Pennsyl- 



GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 35 

vanians, under General Wayne; whilst the second parallel 
was completed by the Pennsyl vanians and Marylanders, 
under Colonel W. Stewart. 

" 15th. Two small batteries were opened this evening. 

" 16th. The enemy made a sortie, and spiked seven pieces 
of artillery, but were immediately repulsed, the spikes draw^n, 
and the batteries again opened. 

" 17th. The enemy beat the chamade at ten o'clock A. M., 
Cornwallis now sent out a flag, proposing a cessation of hos- 
tilities for twenty-four hours, and that commissioners might 
be appointed to meet to settle the terms upon wdiich the gar- 
risons of York and Gloucester should surrender. General 
Washington would only grant a cessation for two hours ; pre- 
viously to the expiration of which, his lordship, by another 
flag, sent the following terms, viz : — The troops to be prison- 
ers of war ; the British to be sent to Great Britain, and not 
to act against America, France, or her allies, until exchanged ; 
the Hessians to Germany, on the same conditions ; and that 
all operations cease until the commissioners should determine 
the details. To this his excellency returned for answer : — 
That hostilities should cease, and no alterations in the works, 
or any new movement of the troops, take place, until he sent 
terms in writing ; which he did on the 18th, at nine o'clock, 
A. M., allowing the enemy two hours to determine. They 
again requested more time ; and the general granted them 
until one o'clock, when they acceded to the heads of the 
imposed terms, and nominated Colonel Dundas and Major 
Ross, on their part, to meet with Colonel Laurens and Vis- 
count de Noailles on ours, to reduce them to form, which was 
completed by nine o'clock at night; and on the 19th, at one 
o'clock P. M., the capitulation was ratified and signed by the 
commander of each army, when the enemy received a guard 
of Pennsylvania and Maryland troops in one of their principal 



36 GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 

works, and one of the French troops in another. At four 
o'clock, the same afternoon, the British army marched out 
of Yorktown with colors cased, between the American and 
French troops, drawn up for the purpose, and then grounded 
their arms agreeably to capitulation." 

After this successful strugcsrle, General Wavne was com- 
manded to repair without delay to the aid of General Greene, 
who was encamped near Savannah, Georgia, in which state 
the enemy had been long rioting without the fear of opposi- 
tion from either regulars or militia! Not, however, before the 
19th of January, 1782, did he reach the Savannah river, and 
having crossed it with a detachment of the first and fourth 
regiments of dragoons, with this force, aided by a small state 
corps and a few spirited militia, he soon routed the enemy 
from some of their strongest posts. AVayne receiving intelli- 
gence of a body of Creek Indians being on their march to 
Savannah, detached a strong party of horse under Colonel 
McCoy, dressed in British uniform, in order to deceive and 
decoy them. This deception succeeded, and the Indians were 
all surrounded and taken without the least resistance. 

General Wayne, in a letter to a friend, dated the 24th of 
February, writes, " It is now upwards of five weeks since we 
entered this state, during which period not an officer or soldier 
with me has once undressed for the purpose of changing his 
linen ; nor do the enemy lie on beds of down — they have 
once or twice attempted to strike our advance parties. The 
day before yesterday they made a forward move in consider- 
able force, which induced me to advance to meet them ; but 
the lads declined the interview, by embarking in boats and 
retreating by water to Savannah, the only post they now hold 
in Georgia." This post remained in possession of the British 
till the month of May, when the British administration, having 
resolved upon abandoning all offensive operations in America, 



GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 37 

it was ordered to be evacuated. Accordingly, on the 11th of 
July, 1782, Savannah was delivered into the possession of 
General Wayne, w^hose time w^as now fully occupied in reply- 
ing to the numerous applications of the merchants and citi- 
zens of that place. About the end of November, General 
Wayne, with the light infantry of the army, and the legionary 
corps, reached the vicinity of Charleston, S. C., where Greene 
was posted near the Ashley river, a convenient position to 
attack the rear of the enemy when the hour of evacuation 
should arrive ; but a proposition from the British General, to 
be permitted to embark without molestation if he left the 
town untouched, w^as acceded to, and on the morning of the 
14th of December, General Wayne had also the honor and 
satisfaction of taking peaceable possession of Charleston, thus 
closing his last active scene in the war of the American revo- 
lution. 

General Wayne continued busily engaged at the south till 
the following July, when he took passage for Philadelphia 
in very delicate health, having contracted a fever while in 
Georgia. 

In 1784, Wayne w^as elected by his native county to the 
General Assembly, where he took deep interest in every act 
which agitated the Legislature. His family estates, which 
had so long been inoperative, now claimed his attention ; 
which, for the space of two years, was most assiduously 
devoted to them. President Washington nominated Wayne 
to the Senate as Commander-in-chief of the United States 
army — which was confirmed and accepted the 13th of April, 
1792. The object of this high and honorable post being 
bestowed on Wayne, w^as to bring to a close the w^ar wdth the 
confederated tribes of Indians, which was raging on the 
northw^estern frontier. During the four years of Indian war- 
fare, General Wayne suffered severely from his previous 



38 GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 

disease, living, however, to witness the termination of those 
troubles which had so long existed, but not to share in the 
happy results w^hich his bravery and exalted wisdom had 
consummated. He died at Presque Isle, on the 15th of 
December, 1796. An able wTiter thus portrays the character 
of this exalted man : — 

" The patriotism, spirit and military character of General 
Anthony Wayne are written on every leaf of his country's 
history, from the dawn of the revolution to the close of his 
eventful life. If you ask who obeyed the first call of America 
for freedom? It was Wayne! he was first on the battle- 
ground and last to retire. If you ask who gallantly led his 
division to victory on the right wing at the battle of German- 
town ? Who bore the fiercest charge at the battle of Mon- 
mouth ? Who, in the hour of gloom, roused the desponding 
spirits of the army and nation by the glorious storming and 
capturing of Stony Point ? It was General Anthony 
Wayne. 

"In Congress, July 26th, 1779, it was resolved unanimously, 
that the thanks of Congress be presented to Brigadier General 
Anthony Wayne, for his brave, prudent and soldierly con- 
duct, in the spirited and well-conducted attack of Stony 
Point." 

A gold medal was voted to him at the same time, of wdiich 
the following is a description taken from the original in the 
possession of his family. {See Plate II.) 

Occasion. — Taking of Stony Point, on the North River, 
by storm. 

Device. — An Indian Queen crowned, a quiver on her back, 
and wearing a short apron of feathers : a mantle hangs from 
her w^aist behind : the upper end of the mantle appears as if 
passed through the girdle of her apron, and hangs gracefully 
by her left side. She is presenting, wdth her right hand, a 



GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 39 

wreath to General Wayne, who receives it. In her left 
hand, the Queen is holding up a mural crown towards the 
General. On her left and at her feet an alligator is stretched 
out. She stands on a bow : a shield, with the American 
stripes, rests against the alligator. 

Legend. — Antonio Wayne Duci Exercitas comitia Ameri- 
cana. 

Reverse. — A fort, with two turrets, on the top of a hill : 
the British flag flying : troops in single or Indian file, ad- 
vancing in the front and rear up the hill : numbers lying at 
the bottom. Troops advancing in front, at a distance, on the 
edge of the river : another party to the right of the fort. A 
piece of artillery posted on the plain, so as to bear upon the 
fort ; ammutiition on the ground : six vessels in the river. 

Legend. — Stony Point expugnatum. 

Exergue.— 15th Juiy, 1779. 



MAJ. JOHN STEWAET. 



It is a singular fact that no biographical memoir can be 
found of this gallant officer. • 

By the journals of Congress for July 26, 1779, we find, 
that that body passed a unanimous vote of thanks to General 
Wayne, and the officers and soldiers, whose bravery was so 
conspicuous at the memorable attack on Stony Point; par- 
ticularly mentioning Colonel De Fleury and Major Stewart, 
as having led the attacking columns, under a tremendous fire. 
By the same resolve of Congress, we find, that a medal, de- 
scriptive of that action, was ordered to be struck and presented 
to Major Stewart. {See Plate II.) 

In a communication soon after the close of the war, it says, 
that Major Stewart was killed by a fall from his horse, near 
Charleston, South Carolina. Should this meet the eye of 
any of the representatives of the late Major Stewart, the pub- 
lishers of these memoirs would feel grateful for any particu- 
lars respecting that distinguished officer, as they may be added 
in another edition. 



Plate 







//•/. t>r,„.,kv. ..,-. 



MAJOR JOHN STEWART. 41 



DESCRIPTION or THE MEDAL. 



Occasion. — Taking the fort of Stony Point. 

Device. — America, personified in an Indian queen, is pre- 
senting a palm branch to Captain Stewart : a quiver hangs at 
her back : her bow and an alligator at her feet : with her left 
hand she supports a shield inscribed with the American 
stripes, and resting on the ground. 

Legend. — Johanni Stewart cohortis prefecto comitia 
Americus. 

Reverse. — A fortress on an eminence : in the foreground, 
an officer cheering his men, who are following him over a 
battis with charged bayonets in pursuit of a flying enemy ; 
troops in Indian files ascending the hill to the storm, front 
and rear : troops advancing from the shore : ships in sight. 

Exergue. — Stony Point oppugnatum, 15th July, 1779. 



LIEUT. -COL. DE FLEURY. 



Very little is known of the hero of the following memoir 
previous to his leaving his native country. He was educated 
as an engineer, and brought with him to this country testi- 
monials of the highest order. His family were of the French 
noblesse ; his ancestor, Hercule Andre de Fleury, wn^ canon 
of Montpelier, and appointed by Louis XIV. preceptor to his 
grandson. At the age of seventy years he was made cardinal 
and prime minister, and by his active and sagacious measures 
the kingdom of France prospered greatly under his admin- 
istration. 

De Fleury, the subject of this brief sketch, was pursuing 
his profession when the news of the American revolution 
reached the shores of France. Endowed by nature with a 
spirit of independence, vigorous intellect, undaunted courage, 
and a spirit of enterprise, he seemed peculiarly fitted to en- 
counter perils and hardships, which his daring, prompt and 
skillful maneuvers, in some of the sharpest battles of the 
revolution, proved most true. He read with excited anxiety, 
again and again, of the oppression and tyranny exercised by 
the mother country against the colonies. 

Next came the new^s that at once decided our young hero 



LIEUTENANT-COLONEL DE FLEURY. 43 

on embarking for America; the colonies had actually revolted, 
had thrown off the yoke of tyranny and usurpation, declaring 
themselves a free and independent people. This was a strug- 
gle, but it must be conquered. De Fleury reached the shores 
of America, was received by the commander-in-chief, received 
a commission, and commenced his revolutionary campaign, to 
which he adhered with that unflinching constancy which 
leaves no doubt of the purity and disinterestedness of his 
motives. Soon after the battle of Brandywine our hero was 
dispatched to Fort Mifilin in the capacity of engineer, de- 
scribed in the followinof letter from General Washington to 
Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Smith, in which he says : — " En- 
closed is a letter to Major Fleury, wdiom I ordered to Fort 
Mifflin to serve in quality of engineer. As he is a young 
man of talents, and has made this branch of military service 
his particular study, I place confidence in him. You will, 
therefore, make the best arrangement for enabling him to 
carry such plans into execution as come within his depart- 
ment. His authority, at the same time that it is subordinate 
to yours, must be sufficient for putting into practice what his 
knowledge of fortification points out as necessary for defend- 
ing the post ; and his department, though inferior, being of a 
distinct and separate nature, requires that his orders should 
be in a great degree discretionary, and that he should be 
suffered to exercise his judgment. Persuaded that you will 
concur with him in every measure, which the good of the 
service may require, I remain," &c. 

For six days previous to the evacuation of Fort Mifflin, the 
fire from the enemy's batteries and shipping had been inces- 
sant. Major Fleury kept a journal of events, which were 
daily forw^arded to General Washington, from which the fol- 
lowing are extracts. 

"November 10th, at noon. — lam interrupted by the bombs 



44 LIEUTENANT-COLONEL DE FLEURY. 

and balls, which fall thickly. The firing increases, but not 
the effect; onr barracks alone suffer. Two d clock: — the direc- 
tion of the fire is changed ; our palisades suffer ; a dozen of 
them are broken down ; one of our cannon is damaged ; I am 
afraid it will not fire straight. Eleven o'clock at night: — the 
enemy keep up a firing every half hour. Our garrison 
diminishes ; our soldiers are overwhelmed with fatigue. 

" 1 1th. The enemy keep up a heavy fire ; they have changed 
the direction of their embrasures, and instead of battering 
our palisades in front, they take them obliquely and do great 
injury to our north side. At night : — the enemy fire and inter- 
rupt our works. Three vessels have passed up between us 
and Province Island, without any molestation from the gal- 
leys. Colonel Smith, Captain George, and myself wounded. 
These two gentlemen passed immediately to Red Bank. 

'' 12th. Heavy firing ; our two eighteen pounders at the 
northern battery dismounted. At night: — the enemy throw 
shells, and we are alarmed by thirty boats. 

" 13th. The enemy have opened a battery on the old Ferry 
Wharf; the walk of our rounds is destroyed, the block- 
houses ruined. Our garrison is exhausted with fatigue and 
ill-health. 

" 14th. The enemy have kept up a firing upon us part of the 
night. Day-light discovers to us a floating battery, placed a 
little above their grand battery and near the shore. Seven 
o'clock: — the enemy keep up a great fire from their floating 
battery and the shore ; our block-houses are in a pitiful con- 
dition. At noon : — we have silenced the floating battery. A 
boat, which this day deserted from the fleet, will have given 
the enemy sufficient intimation of our weakness ; they will 
probably attempt a lodgment on the Island, which we cannot 
prevent with our whole strength. 

" 15th — at six in the afternoon. — The fire is universal from 



LIEUTENANT-COLONEL DE FLEURY. 45 

the sliipping and batteries. We have lost a great many men 
to-day ; a great many officers are killed or wounded. My 
fine company of artillery is almost destroyed. We shall be 
obliged to evacuate Fort Mifflin this night. Major Talbut is 
badly wounded. 

" 16th. We were obliged to evacuate the fort last evening. 
Major Thayer returned from thence a little after two this 
morning. Everything was got off that possibly could be. 
The cannon could not be removed without making too great 
a sacrifice of men, as the Vigilant lay within one hundred 
yards of the southern part of the works, and with her inces- 
sant fire, hand grenades and musketry, from the round-top, 
killed every man that appeared upon the platforms." 

After this devastating conflict, Fleury was promoted to the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel in the army. He had already 
received from Congress the gift of a horse, as a testimonial of 
their sense of his merit at the battle of Brandywine, where a 
horse was shot under him. 

*' To the President of Congress — 

" Head Quarters, West Point, 25th July, 1779. 
" Sir : — Lieutenant-Colonel Fleury having communicated 
to me his intention to return to France at the present juncture, 
I have thought proper to give him this letter to testify to Con- 
gress the favorable opinion I entertain of his conduct. The 
marks of their approbation, which he received on a former 
occasion, have been amply justified by all his subsequent 
behavior. He has signalized himself in more than one in- 
stance since ; and in the late assault of Stony Point, he com- 
manded one of the attacks, was the first that entered the 
enemy's works, and struck the British flag with his own 
hands, as reported by General Wayne. It is but justice to 
iiim to declare, that, in the different services he has been 



46 LIEUTENANT-COLONEL DE FLEURY. 

of real utilitj^, and has acquitted himself in every respect 
as an officer of distinguished merit, one whose talents, zeal, 
activity, and bravery, alike entitle him to particular notice. 
I doubt not Congress will be disposed to grant him every 
indulgence. I have the honor to be, &c. &c. 

G. Washington. 

CERTIFICATE. 

West Point, 28th July, 1779. 
I certify that Lieutenant-Colonel Fleury has served in the 
army of the United States since the beginning of the cam- 
paign in 1777, to the present period, and has uniformly 
acquitted himself as an officer of distinguished merit for 
talents, zeal, activity, piTidence, and bravery; that he first 
obtained a captain's commission from Congress, and entered 
as a volunteer in a corps of riflemen, in which, by his activity 
and bravery, he soon recommended himself to notice; that 
he next served as brigade major, with the rank of major, first 
in the infantry and afterwards in the cavalry, in which stations 
he acquired reputation in the army, and the approbation of 
his commanding officers, of which he has the most ample 
testimonies ; that towards the conclusion of the campaign of 
1777, he was sent to the important post of Fort Mifflin, in 
quality of engineer, in which he rendered essential services, 
and equally signalized his intelligence and his valor. That 
in consequence of his good conduct on this and on former 
occasions, he was promoted by Congress to the rank of Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel, and has been since employed in the following 
stations, namely, as a sub-inspector, as second in command in 
a corps of light infantry, in an expedition against Rhode 
Island, and lastly as commandant of a battalion of light 
infantrv, in the army under my immediate command ; that in 



LIEUTENANT-COLONEL DE FLEURY. 47 

each of these capacities, as well as the former, he has justified 
the confidence reposed in him, and acquired more and more 
the character of a judicious, well-informed, indefatigable and 
brave officer. In the assault of Stony Point, a strong, fortified 
post of the enemy on the North River, he commanded one 
of the attacks, was the first that entered the main works, and 
struck the British flag with his own hands. 

G. Washington. 

In July, 1779, Congress passed a vote of thanks to Colonel 
De Fleury, with a gold medal {see Plate II.) for his bravery 
and courage at Stony Point. During the two years De Fleury 
was attached to the American army, he took a conspicuous 
post in all the battles fought within that period ; and such was 
his bravery, that every commander under whom he had the 
honor to serve, recommended him to the especial notice of 
Congress. 



MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Taking the fort of Stony Point. 

Device. — A soldier helmeted and standing against the ruins 
of a fort : his right hand extended, holding a sword upright : 
the staff of a stand of colors reversed in his left : the colors 
under his feet : his right knee drawn up, as if in the act of 
stamping on them. 

Legend. — Virtutis et audicifE monum, et praemium D. De 
Fleury equiti gallo primo muros resp. Americ. d. d. 

Reverse. — Two water batteries, three guns each : one 
battery firing at a vessel : a fort on a hill : flag flying : river 
in front : six vessels before the fort. 

Legend. — Aggeres paludes hostes victi. 

Exergue. — Stony Pt. expugn. 15th July, 1779. 



CAPTURE OF MAJ. ANDRE. 



John Andre, a British officer, was clerk in a mercantile 
house in London ; being anxious for a military life, he obtained 
a commission as ensign in the regiment commanded by Sir 
Henry Clinton, then about to embark for America. His 
energetic and enterprising spirit soon raised him to the rank 
of major and aid-de-camp to Sir Henry. Benedict Arnold, 
the American traitor, a man guilty of every species of artifice 
and deception, smarting under the inflictions of a severe 
reprimand from his superiors, for misconduct, was resolved to 
be revenged by the sacrifice of his country. By artifice he 
obtained command of the important post of West Point. He 
had previously, in a letter to the British commander, signified 
his change of principles, and his wish to join the royal army. 
A correspondence now commenced between him and Sir 
Henry Clinton, the object of which was to concert the means 
of putting West Point into the hands of the British. The 
plot was well laid, correct plans of the fort drawn, and as 
they supposed, the execution certain. The arrangement was 
effected by Major John Andre, aid-de-camp to Sir Henry 
Clinton, and adjutant-general of the British army. Andre, 
who had effected all the arrangements with Arnold, received- 



CAPTURE OF MAJOR ANDRE. 49 

from him a pass, authorizing him, under the feigned name of 
Anderson, to proceed on the pubhc service to the White 
Plains, or lower, if it was required. 

He had passed all the guards and posts on the road without 
suspicion, and was proceeding, with the delicate negotiation, 
to Sir Henry, who was then in New York. 

Having arrived within a few miles of Tarrytown, he was 
accosted by three individuals who appeared loitering on the 
road. One of them seized the reins of his bridle, while another 
in silence pointed a rifle to his breast. Andre exclaimed, 
** Gentlemen, do not detain me; I am a British officer on urgent 
business ; there is my pass," at the same time drawing from 
his breast a paper, which he handed to one of the three, while 
the other two, looking with anxious scrutiny over the shoul- 
ders of their comrades, read as follows : — 



Head Quarters, Robinsori's House, Sept. 22d, 1780. 

Permit Mr. John Anderson to pass the guards to the White 
Plains, or below, if he chooses. He being on public business 
by my direction. 

B. Arnold, M. Genl. 

Andre made a second effort to be dismissed ; when one of 
the men requested to know, how a British officer came in 
possession of a pass from an American general. A notice 
appeared some time since, purporting to be from a person who 
had remembered the circumstance, and an actual acquaint- 
ance of Paulding, Van Wart and W^illiams, that Paulding 
wore a British uniform, which accounted for the fatal mistake 
made by Andre, in so quickly declaring himself to be a British 
officer. The three mihtia men insisted upon Andre's dis- 
mounting, which he did. They then led him to the side of 
7 



50 CAPTURE OF MAJOR ANDRE. 

the road, and told him he must divest himself of his clothing, 
in order to give them an opportunity to search him. This 
was done with reluctance, after offering his splendid gold 
watch, his purse, nay thousands, to be permitted to pass; but 
no bribe could tempt, no persuasion could allure : they were 
Americans! Paulding, Van Wart and Williams had felt 
the hand of British wrong ; they had been robbed, ill-treated, 
and trampled on, and would sooner suffer death than aid the 
enemy of Washington. 

This, then, was the appalling moment. Andre knew that all 
must be divulged. He had but one hope, that their ignorance 
might prevent their being able to read the papers contained in 
his boot. In this he was mistaken, for Paulding first seizing 
the papers, read them aloud to his comrades in a bold voice. 
Nothing can picture the terrible treachery, which, to their 
uneducated minds, was planned in these papers. 

Andre was speechless, and as pale as death. His fortitude 
seemed to forsake him ; and laying his hands on Paulding's 
arms, exclaimed, in tones of pity not to be described, " Take 
my watch, my horse, my purse, all ! all I have — only let me 
go !" But no ! the stern militia men could not be coaxed or 
bribed from their duty to their country. By a court martial 
ordered by General Washington, Andre was tried, found guilty, 
and agreeably to the law of nations, sentenced to suffer death. 

Though he requested to die like a soldier, the ignominious 
sentence of being hung was executed upon him the 2d of 
October, 1780, at the early age of twenty-nine years. 

Benedict Arnold effected his escape, remained in the 
British service during the war, then returned to London, 
where he died in 1801. 

"By a vote of Congress, 3d of November, 1780, a silver 
medal or shield {See Plate IV.) was ordered to be struck and 
presented to John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van 



i 



k 



CAPTURE OF MAJOR ANDRE. 51 

Wart, who intercepted Major John Andre in the character of a 
spy, and notwithstanding the large bribes offered them for his 
release, nobly disdaining to sacrifice their country for the sake 
of gold, secured and conveyed him to the commanding officer 
of the district, whereby the conspiracy of Benedict Arnold was 
brought to light, the insidious designs of the enemy baffled, 
and the United States rescued from impending danger." 

A pension of two hundred dollars, annually, during life, 
was bestowed on each of them. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDALS. 

Occasion. — Capture of Major Andre, Adjutant-General of 
the British army. 
Device. — A shield. 
Legend. — Fidelity. 
Reverse. — A wreath. 
Legend. — Vincit amor Patriae. 



'* 



#- 



GEN. NATHANIEL GREENK 



Nathaniel Greene, the son of a preacher of the Society 
of Friends, was born on the 27th of May, 1742, in Warwick, 
Rhode Island, 

Nathaniel received the first rudiments of his education 
among that peaceful sect; but being of a strong and robust 
form, he often had to intersperse his hours of study by a 
relaxation of labor in the field, at the mill, or at the anvil. 
His early years were passed at the home of his parents, and 
in the garb of a strict Quaker, till he was twenty years of 
age, when he commenced the study of law. 

Not long, however, did he continue his studies, for in 1773, 
when the states began to organize their militia, his attention 
turned to the subject, and he became a member of the "■ Kent- 
ish Guards," a military company composed of the most 
respectable young men in his county. For this he was dis- 
missed from the Society of Friends; yet he ever after re- 
garded the sect with great respect. 

Greene remained in the ranks of this corps till after the 
battle of Lexington ; when "Rhode Island embodied three 



GENERAL NATHANIEL GREENE. 53 

regiments of militia, and placed them under his command 
with a commission as brigadier-general. He marched his 
regiments to Cambridge, where he met the commander-in- 
chief, and was the first to express his satisfaction in his ap- 
pointment, w^hich was met by the confidence and friendship 
of Washington, which he retained through life. He was 
appointed by Congress major-general in 1776. He accom- 
panied the army to New York, and took the command of the 
troops on Long Island. His absence, caused by sickness, from 
the disastrous battle of Flatbush, was severely regretted; but 
when the commander-in-chief found it necessary to retreat 
across New Jersey, General Greene was his companion. 
Although scarcely able, from debility, to sit on his iiorse, his 
cheerfulness and confidence never forsook him, and the spirits 
of the troops were ever cheered by his example. 

On the night of the 25th of December, 1776, General 
Greene crossed the Delaware, and in command of the left 
wing of the army, surprised the enemy at Trenton, seized 
their artillery, and prevented their retreat to Princeton. He 
never left the army during the following winter, but bore his 
share in its hardships and glories. He commanded the left 
wing of the American army at the battle of Germantown. 
" Such was the distressed situation of the American army 
through the winter of that year, that Washington was doubt- 
ful of his ability to take the field the ensuing season. Every 
exertion was made to pvit the army in a condition for the 
campaign, and General Greene was urged to accept the ap- 
pointment of quarter-master general. The ofl[ice was accepted 
with great reluctance, for his inclination was to serve in the 
line ; and the charge and disbursing the public money was to 
him of all things unpleasant. The necessities of the army, 
however, and the strong expression of Washington, that 
'some one must make the sacrifice,' at last induced him to 



54 GENERAL NATHANIEL GREENE. 

consent; but not until the condition was acceded, that he 
should not lose his right to command in action. Of this he 
availed himself at the battles of Monmouth, and on the retreat 
from Rhode Island. The duties of his new station were 
arduous and embarrassing, but were rendered more so by the 
unhappy factions which divided the councils of the country. 
Notwithstanding the distress and poverty which threatened 
ruin to the cause, intrigue and slander were in active opera- 
tion, to undermine the reputation and character of the men 
who were devoting themselves to accomplish the almost hope- 
less work. Washington himself was assailed; and Greene, 
who was supposed to have been his favorite officer and con- 
fidential Adviser, was made an object of suspicion ; but the 
purity and integrity of General Greene's character bore him 
above the storm. — Congress did him justice, and his personal 
friends never faltered in the discharge of their duty towards 
liim." In 1780, General Greene was appointed to the com- 
mand of the southern department ; on his arrival at Charlotte, 
he found the southern army destitute of almost everything : 
no artillery, baggage or stores. In a letter to Lafayette, he 
says : — " Were you to arrive now, you would find a few rao-- 
ged, half-starved troops in the wilderness, destitute of ever}'- 
thing necessary for the comfort or convenience of soldiers." 

He had arrived in an exhausted country, the inhabitants 
divided into hostile parties, and an enemy before him, well 
provided, and flushed with the prospect of victory. 

His only dependence and hope of success were in a number 
of spirited and devoted officers, who gathered around him, 
and the promise of reinforcements from the states he had 
passed through during his route. General Greene thought it 
most prudent to remove to a place where subsistence and the 
means of transportation could be obtained. 

He accordins^ly marched to the CheraM" liills, on the Pee 



GENERAL NATHANIEL GREENE. 55 

Dee; and detached General Morgan to the west of the 
Catawba, to cut off the left wing of Cornwallis' army, and 
otherwise annoy him as circumstances might permit. This 
movement of General Morgan and his army alarmed the 
British from their posts. Colonel Tarleton was dispatched 
with a force to cut off and destroy him ; but in this case the 
victory took an opposite direction, and Colonel Tarleton' s 
troops met their annihilation at the Cowpens. The news of 
this victory was a severe blow to Cornwallis, and he at once 
determined to cut off Morgan's retreat with his prisoners, and 
prevent his joining the main army. But in this he was foiled ; 
for, mistaking the route supposed to be taken by his enemy, 
Morgan was enabled to reach Greene in safety. Notwith- 
standing the victory at the Cowpens, General Greene had 
to encounter a number of successive disasters. He was de- 
feated at Guildford, and again at Camden, but prevented Lord 
Rawdon from improving his success, and obliged him to retire 
beyond the Santee. While in the vicinity of the Santee, he 
was under the painful necessity of ordering the sentence of 
the law to be put in force on some of his men. From the con- 
tinual desertions taking place, he found it necessary to hang 
eight of his soldiers in one day. A number of forts and gar- 
risons in South Carolina now fell into his hands, but the 
army, at the approach of Lord Rawdon, was under the neces- 
sity of retreating to the extremity of the state. Discouraging 
as this was, the firmness and decision of General Greene sus- 
tained him through every trial. Being at this time advised to 
abandon South Carolina and retire to Virginia, he replied, 
" I will recover the country or perish in the attempt." Lord 
Rawdon soon found that pursuit \^^as hazardous, and retired to 
Charleston. General Greene retired to the Santee Hills, to 
enjoy the breezes during the debilitating heat of the summer 
months. An able historian gives the following account of the 



56 GENERAL NATHANIEL GREENE. 

battle at Eutaw Springs, which was the last of General 
Greene's battles : — " The battle at the Eutaw Springs, 
on the 8th of September, was described by the American 
commander, as the most obstinate and bloody he had ever 
seen. The militia, with a firmness ' which would have graced 
the veterans of the great King of Prussia,' advanced with 
shouts into the hottest of the enemy's fire ; but one part of 
the line faltering for a moment, the British, elated at the pros- 
pect, sprang forward to improve that moment, but at the same 
time deranged their own line. General Greene, who was 
watching for such an incident, ' ordered the second line to 
advance and sw^eep the field with the bayonets !' 

" The order was promptly obeyed, and the enemy were 
driven from the ground, through their camp in the rear. But 
their pursuers were diverted by the spoils of their tents, and 
became irretrievably confused. In the mean time the enemy 
rallied, and under cover of the fire from a large party who 
had taken possession of a brick house, recovered their camp. 
Had it not been for the temptation, so unexpectedly thrown 
open, the British forces must have surrendered. As it was, 
their power in South Carolina was prostrated, for in this 
action they lost upwards of one thousand men. The enemy 
abandoned the whole of South Carolina, except Charleston, 
and the American army retired to their former encampment." 

Except for the purpose of procuring provisions, the enemy 
lay inactive in Charleston, for w4th all their sagacity they 
had not been able to retain possession of the country. They 
therefore prepared to evacuate the city, having agreed 
with General Greene to leave it uninjured, and without 
interruption from the American army. On the 14th of De- 
cember, 1782, the delighted citizens of Charleston beheld 
the British troops march out of their city, and with joyous 
congratulations received wdth open arms the liberators of their 



GENERAL NATHANIEL GREENE. 57 

country. This, indeed, was a happy day ; many and sincere 
were the prayers offered to the Almighty for their deliver- 
ance ; the whole city presented a scene of festivity. 

From the governor to the lowly citizen, General Greene was 
regarded as the object of every eye, the praise of every tongue. 
South Carolina conveyed to him a valuable portion of land ; 
Georgia presented him with a beautiful and highly improved 
plantation in the vicinity of Savannah, 

When peace was restored, General Greene returned for a 
time to his native state, in order to remove his family to his 
new plantation in Georgia. 

On his arrival at Princeton, New Jersey, where Congress was 
then in session, that body unanimously resolved to present him 
with two pieces of ordnance, taken from the British army, 
"as a public testimony of the wisdom, fortitude and military 
skill which distinguished his command in the southern cam- 
paign. They had previously voted him a British standard 
and a gold medal, an engraving of which is given on Plate 
III, commemorative of the battle of Eutaw. 

In 1785 General Greene removed, with his family, to his 
new residence in Georgia, where he engaged in agricultural 
pursuits, and in the education of his children, but his period 
of domestic repose was short; scarcely a year did he enjoy the 
happiness of his family, for on the 19th of June, 1786, he 
closed a life of deep, pure, devoted patriotism to his country, 
and love and good -will to all mankind. 

medal. 

Occasion. — Gallant conduct at Eutaw Springs, S. C. 
Device. — Head of General Greene, profile. 

8 



58 ^ GENERAL NATHANIEL GREENE. 

Legend. — Nathaniel! Greene egregio duci comitia Ameri- 
cana. 

Reverse. — Victory lighting on the earth, stepping on a 
broken shield ; under her feet broken arms ; colors ; a shield. 

Legend. — Salus regionem australium. 

Exergue. — Hostibus ad Eutaw debellatis, die 8th Sept 
1781. 



GEN. HORATIO GATES. 



Horatio Gates was the son of a clergyman at Maiden, 
in England, and was born in the year 1729. Having lost his 
father at an early age, he was left pretty much to the dictates 
of his own" passion. He appears to have determined on a 
military life as early as twelve years of age, when the fre- 
quent remonstrances of his uncle and guardian could not 
prevail on him to relinquish the thoughts of a profession so 
much against the washes of his family. 

At the age of seventeen he was appointed to an ensigncy 
in the regiment commanded by General Monckton, who was 
a personal friend of the father of Gates, and who gave him 
every opportunity of improving himself Shortly after he 
was promoted to a lieutenancy, and was aid-de-camp to 
General Monckton at the capture of Martinico, where his 
bravery and soldier-like conduct won for him the rank of 
major. He was among the first troops who landed at Halifax, 
in Nova Scotia, under General Cornwallis, and was stationed 
there for some time. He was only in his twenty-sixth year 
when he accompanied the unfortunate Braddock in the ex- 
pedition against Fort du Quesne, and with the illustrious 



60 GENERAL HORATIO GATES. 

Washington, was among the few officers, who, on that occa- 
sion, escaped with their hves. Gates did not escape, how- 
ever, without a very dangerous wound ; he was shot through 
the body, which for a time shut him out from the bloody and 
perilous scenes which attended the various battles of the 
French war. Although he had not been a citizen of the new 
world but a few years, he evinced his attachment to it by 
purchasing a farm in Virginia, where he retired till he was 
perfectly restored to health. His attachment to the new 
country, and a military reputation so high. Congress, with- 
out any hesitation, appointed him adjutant-general, with the 
rank of brigadier-general in the new army of the revolution 
of 1775. General Washington was well acquainted with his 
merits in his military character, and warmly recommended 
him to Congress on the occasion ; they had been fellow-sol- 
diers and sufferers under General Braddock. 

From this period he took an active part in most of the 
transactions of the war, and his bravery and good fortune 
placed him in a rank inferior only to Washington, In July, 
1775, he accompanied the commander-in-chief to Cambridge, 
and was employed for some time in a subordinate but highly 
useful capacity. In June, 1776, the government evinced 
their confidence in Gates, by conferring on him the chief 
command of the forces at the north, and the new general was 
found in no way deficient in courage and vigilance, so neces- 
sary under such circumstances. 

The Congress had turned an anxious eye towards Canada 
at the opening of the contest ; being fully aware of the dan- 
ger of their gaining possession of our harbors and lakes, and 
the great difficulty to us, to obtain possession of their strong 
forts on their settled frontier. The British commenced the 
naval preparations on their side with great alacrity and suc- 
cess. But the Americans had every obstacle, but the want 
of zeal, to encounter in preparing for defence. General 



GENERAL HORATIO GATES. 61 

Gates was directed to co-operate with General Schuyler, but 
there was a miserable and irreparable deficiency in cannon, 
in the materials of ship-building, and even in the necessary 
workmen. The country had been hitherto a desert. Colo- 
nization, in its natural progress, had not approached these 
solitary shores. Nothing but the exigencies of the former 
war with France had occasioned this region to be traversed 
or inhabited. A few forts, with suitable garrisons, were all 
that could be found in it, and that abundance of workmen, 
vessels and prepared timber, which a well-planted country 
would have spontaneously furnished, was unknown. Schuyler, 
indeed, was not destitute of a naval armament, but it was 
insufficient to cope with the greater preparations of the enemy. 
With all the exertions of the two commanders, they were 
merely able to equip about fifteen vessels, half of which were 
little better than boats, and the largest carried only twelve 
small guns very ill supplied with ammunition. This small 
armament, at the recommendation of General Gates, was 
placed under the command of the intrepid, and then, unsus- 
pected Arnold. The first operations of the campaign con- 
sisted in a contest between these vessels under Arnold, and a 
much superior force under General Carleton, in which the 
land forces had no concern. The British army under Carle- 
ton commenced their advance to Ticonderoga, where Gates 
and Schuyler were already stationed with eight thousand men, 
well provisioned and determined to defend it to the last ex- 
tremity ; all parties expecting to witness a long, obstinate, 
and, perhaps, a bloody siege. 

Some causes, however, and most probably the lateness of 
the season, induced Carleton to disappoint these expectations, 
by precipitately retiring to Canada in search of winter quar- 
ters. 

This retreat enabled General Gates to march southward, 
with a considerable detachment of his army, to assist General 



62 GENERAL HORATIO GATES. 

Washington in his operations in the middle colonies. The 
ensuing year was passed in a great variety of movements and 
skirmishes in the lower districts of New York, Pennsylvania 
and Jersey, between detachments of each army. In the ordi- 
nary records of the time, we meet with no splendid or con- 
spicuous part performed by the subject of these memoirs, 
though there is sufficient reason to believe that his services 
in that motley warfare were active, strenuous and useful. 

News having reached General Gates that Burgoyne, with 
part of his army, had passed the Hudson and encamped at 
Saratoga, he, with numbers already equal, and continually 
augmenting, advanced quickly towards him, with a resolution 
to oppose his progress at the risk of a battle. 

On the 17th of September he arrived at Stillwater, where 
he encamped, being then within four miles of the enemy. 
Two days after, skirmishes between advanced parties termi- 
nated in an engagement almost general, in which the utmost 
efforts of the British merely enabled them to maintain footing 
of the preceding day Burgoyne, who was daily expecting 
reinforcements from Clinton at New York, was content to 
remain in his camp, although his army was diminished by 
the desertion of the Indians and the Canadian militia, to less 
than one-half of its original number. 

GaLes, on the contrary, finding his forces largely increasing, 
being plentifully supplied with provisions, and knowing that 
Burgoyne had only a limited store, and that rapidly lessening, 
and could not be recruited, was not without hopes that victory 
would come, in time, even without a battle. His troops were 
so numerous, and his fortified position so strong, that he was 
able to take measures for preventing the retreat of the enemy, 
by occupying the strong posts in his rear. 

Accordingly, nineteen days passed without any further 
operations, a delay as ruinous to one party as it was advan- 
tageous to the other. 



GENERAL HORATIO GATES. 63 

At the end of this period, the British general found his 
prospects of assistance as remote as ever, and the consump- 
tion of his stores so alarming, that retreat or victory became 
unavoidable alternatives. On the eighth of October a warm 
action ensued, in which the British were everywhere repulsed, 
and a part of their lines occupied by their enemies. Bur- 
goyne's loss was very considerable in killed, wounded and 
prisoners, while the favorable situation of Gates' army made 
its losses in the battle of no moment. 

Burgoyne retired in the night to a stronger camp, but the 
measures immediately taken, by Gates, to cut off his retreat, 
compelled him without delay to regain his former camp at 
Saratoga. There he arrived with little molestation from his 
adversary. His provisions being now reduced to the supply 
of a few days, the transport of artillery and baggage towards 
Canada being rendered impracticable by the judicious mea- 
sures of his adversary, the British general resolved upon a 
rapid retreat, merely with what the soldiers could carry on 
their backs. They soon found they were deprived even of 
this resource, as the passes through which their route lay 
were so strongly guarded, that nothing but artillery could 
clear them. In this desperate situation a parley took place, 
and on the sixteenth of October the whole army surrendered 
to Gates. The prize obtained consisted of more than five 
thousand prisoners, some fine artillery, seven thousand mus- 
kets, clothing for seven thousand men, with a great quantity 
of tents, and other military stores. All the frontier fortresses 
were immediately abandoned to the victors. This successful 
capture filled America with joy : Congress passed a vote of 
thanks, and ordered a gold medal (5'ee Plate III) to be presented 
to him by the President. It is not easy to overrate the im- 
portance of this success. It may be considered as deciding the 
war of the revolution, as from that period the British cause 



64 GENERAL HORATIO GATES. 

began rapidly to decline. The capture of Cornwallis was not 
considered of equal importance to that of Burgoyne, nor an 
event which caused more exultation. 

The conduct of General Gates towards his conquered 
enemy was marked by a delicacy which did him the highest 
honor ; he did not permit his own troops to witness the mor- 
tification of the British in depositing their arms. The system 
of General Gates was that of forbearance and lenity — of 
allowing for honest intentions and difference of opinion. The 
benignity of his measures were seconded by the urbanity of 
his personal deportment — he was courteous and even friendly 
to the proscribed, and this event entitled him to a high rank 
among the deliverers of his country. Soon after General 
Gates retired to his estate in Virginia, and died in 1806, at 
the advanced age of seventy-seven years. 

MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Surrender of Lieutenant-General Burgoyne 
and his army at Saratoga, New York, in 1777. 

Device. — Bust of General Gates. 

Legend. — Horatio Gates duci strenno comitia Americana. 

Reverse. — Gates and Burgoyne in front of the American 
and British troops. Burgoyne in the act of presenting his 
sword to Gates. The Americans on the right, with arms 
shouldered and colors flying. The British on the left, in the 
act of grounding their arms, and laying down their colors. 
By the side of the two generals are a drum and a stand of 
colors. 

Legend. — Salus Regionum Septentrional. 

Exergue. — Hoste ad Saratogam in dedition. Accepto die 
17th October, 1777. 



GENERAL DANIEL MORGAN. 



The father of Daniel Morgan was a Welshman, who 
had emigrated from Wales, and settled in the state of New 
Jersey, some years before the birth of his son, which 
took place in the year 1736. His father was poor, conse- 
quently his education was confined to the ordinary branches 
of a country school. At an early age, an enterprising cha- 
racter appeared to be developing itself, and our hero, at the 
age of seventeen, left the humble roof of his parents, to im- 
prove his fortune at the south. Accordingly, we next find 
him as wagoner on the estate of a wealthy planter, in Fre- 
derick county, Virginia. In the situation of teamster, he 
continued until after the unfortunate expedition of Braddock; 
during the whole of this campaign he drove his own team 
attached to the army. During this unfortunate campaign 
he was charged with insolence to a British officer, tried and 
sentenced to receive five hundred lashes, which he submitted 
to with that firm indifference which was peculiar to him 
through the remainder of his life. Lee, in his memoirs says, 
" That in a few days after the infliction of this disgraceful 
punishment, the officer became convinced of the injustice of 
the charge,^(p-nd made an ample atonement to young Morgan 
9 



66 GENERAL DANIEL MORGAN. 

before the whole regiment." It was during this disastrous 
campaign, that the miUtary qualifications of Morgan were 
first noticed, when the officers recommended him to the colo- 
nial government of Virginia, from which he received a com- 
mission as ensign in the English service. It was in this 
capacity that his powers of mind burst forth, in those quali- 
fications which twenty years afterwards distinguished him as 
one of the prominent heroes of the glorious revolution. 

Although enoagred from 1775 to 1781, in which he saw 
more actual service than any other American officer, he re- 
ceived but one dangerous wound. He was attacked by a 
party of Indians, while carrying dispatches to a frontier post, 
accompanied by two soldiers ; he received a ball, which enter- 
ing the back of his neck, came out through his left cheek, 
shattering his jaw in a dangerous manner. He was mounted 
on a fieet horse, and in falling, grasped firmly the neck of the 
animal. The savages, presuming he was dead, left him to 
scalp the two that had fallen. Morgan, who believed that 
his wounds would prove fatal, or that he should be exhausted 
by loss of blood, urged his horse to full speed, and the noble 
animal escaped with him into the fort. One of the savages 
followed him for some distance, as fast as he could run, with 
open mouth and tomahawk in hand, expecting every moment 
his victim would fall. When the disappointed savage found 
the horse was fast leaving him behind, he threw his tomahaw^k 
with great force, but without efi'ect, and abandoned the pur- 
suit with a most hideous yell. 

This serious wound confined Morgan to the hospital for 
six months; as soon as convalescence permitted, he returned 
to his native state, where he remained till he was quite re- 
covered. In 1774, we find him possessor of one of the finest 
farms in the county of Frederick. During this year he took 
the command of a company in an expedition to the west, 



GENERAL DANIEL MORGAN. 67 

under Lord Dunmore, against the Indians, who were de- 
feated. On his return, on the Ohio river, he first heard of the 
hostihties between the EngHsh and the Bostonians. On their 
arrival at Winchester, Virginia, the corps was disbanded, and 
they severally pledged themselves to each other, to aid their 
eastern brethren if they should require it. Matters now be- 
coming serious, he applied to Congress for permission to raise 
a company, which was immediately granted, with an appoint- 
ment as captain. His military popularity being so well 
known, that in the short space of eight days, ninety-six men 
had enrolled themselves under his command, which formed 
the nucleus of that celebrated rifle company, which so sig- 
nally distinguished itself in so many battles. His corps being 
complete he reached Boston in fifteen days, and remaining 
there some time in inactivity, he requested to be detached to 
Quebec. This was done, and under the orders of General 
Arnold, in that celebrated march through the woods, he led 
the van. Shortly after his arrival, General Montgomery also 
arrived, w^hen the attack was decided upon. Morgan led 
the van-guard, under the order of General Arnold, who, being 
badly wounded in the leg, was carried from the field at the 
commencement of the attack. 

At this time there were three field officers superior in com- 
mand to Morgan, but each, from inexperience, insisted upon 
waiving their rank, and placed Morgan in command. His 
attack was upon a two gun battery, supported by fifty men. 
Having twice fired and missed, he ordered the ladders to be 
placed, which he mounted, and leaped into the town amidst 
the fifty men who, after a faint resistance, fled ; this daring 
act inspired the soldiers, who lost no time in following their 
leader. 

The English soldiery were panic-struck, the battery was 
carried without resistance, the barrier left open, and the people 



68 GENERAL DANIEL MORGAN. 

gave themselves up, asking for protection. Before entering 
the barrier gate, he was ordered to wait for General Mont- 
gomery. In this he very reluctantly acquiesced, saying at the 
same time that it would give the enemy time to rally, and 
recover from their panic. In this he was correct, for the news 
of the death of the brave Montgomery seemed to damp the 
ardor of the brave soldiers; although they fought to despera- 
tion, they were overwhelmed by numbers and made prisoners 
of war. Soon after the exchange of Morgan, he received the 
appointment of colonel in the continental army ; and marched 
at the head of the partisan rifle corps to the assistance of 
General Gates. At the glorious victory of Saratoga, he took 
a most conspicuous part; although Gates shamefully omitted 
to do him justice at the time, the English account of the 
battle gave the principal credit of the victory to Morgan. 

A reconciliation, however, soon took place between Morgan 
and Gates ; and the latter, on every subsequent occasion, en- 
deavored to make amends for the injustice. The legislature 
of Virginia presented Morgan with a horse, pistols and a 
sword; and his neighbors named his plantation "Saratoga," 
in honor of his late victory. His next act of bravery and 
skill was displayed in the defeat of General Tarleton, at the 
battle of the Cowpens, on the 17th of January, 1781, where 
he took nearly as many prisoners as he had men of his own ; 
and Congress testified the high sense they entertained of this 
brilliant victory, by presenting him with a gold medal, (here- 
after described.) At the end of the war General Morgan 
retired to his plantation at Saratoga, and devoted himself 
to agricultural pursuits. He was elected to Congress, but 
after serving two sessions, his debilitated health obliged him 
to retire from public life. 

In 1800, General Morgan removed to Winchester, where 
he was confined by extreme debility for nearly two years, and 



GENERAL DANIEL MORGAN. 69 

expired on the sixth day of July, 1802. General Morgan 
had two daughters, the eldest married to the late General 
Presly Neville, of Pittsburgh, and the youngest to Major 
Heard, of New Jersey. Of this gallant soldier it may truly 
be said, that no officer rendered more efficient aid to the cause 
of his country, and that he well merited the character at that 
time given him, the hero of the three greatest victories, 
Quebec, Saratoga, and the Cowpens. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

{See Plate III.) 

Occasion. — Victory at the Cowpens, North Carolina. 

Device. — An Indian queen with a quiver on her back, in 
the act of crowning an officer with a laurel wreath ; his hand 
resting on his sword : a cannon lying on the ground : various 
military weapons and implements in the back-ground. 

Legend. — Danieli Morgan, duci exercitus comitia Ameri- 
cana. 

Reverse. — An officer mounted, at the head of his troops, 
charging a flying enemy. A battle in the back-ground : in 
front, a personal combat between a dragoon unhorsed and a 
foot soldier. 

Legend. — Victoria libertatis vindex. 

Exergue. — Fugatis, captis aut csesis ad cowpens hostibus, 
17th January, 1781. 



JOHN EAGER HOWAED. 



John Eager Howard, the subject of this memoir, was 
born on the 4th of June, 1752, in Baltimore county, and state 
of Maryland. He was the grandson of Joshua Howard, who, 
when young, left his home, in the vicinity of ^lanchester, 
England, and against the wishes of his parents, joined the 
army of the Duke of York, afterwards James the Second, 
durinor Monmouth's insurrection ; fearinsr to encounter the 
displeasure of his parents, he joined a band of adventurers, 
who were preparing to seek their fortunes in the British 
colonies in North America, in the year 1685. 

He soon obtained a grant of land in Baltimore count}', 
(which is still held by the family,) and married Miss Joanna 
O'Carroll, of an Irish family, but recently emigrated from 
Ireland. 

Cornelius, his son, and father of the subject of this sketch, 
married a Miss Eager, whose estate now forms part of the 
city of Baltimore. During the interval that elapsed bet^veen 
the emigration of the early members of the family to the 
revolution, they appear to have been quiet cultivators of the 
soil, taldng no part in the political broils that w^ere frequently 
arising in the colonies. 



Plate, 4' 





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10 



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\r 



'\-:' I O 






4A, 





//.■/,. /'//•///..//.■...'■^ 



JOHN EAGER HOWARD. 71 

The time had now arrived, when every true son of America 
felt bound to participate in the approaching struggle for 
liberty and independence, and John Eager Howard received 
a commission as captain, in one of those bodies of militia 
termed flying camps in the regiment commanded by Colonel 
Hall. The commission depended upon his raising thirty men 
in a given time ; but such was the esteem in which our hero 
was held, that he formed his company required in two days, 
and marched direct to the army. 

In the following year he was promoted, till finally he suc- 
ceeded Lieutenant-Colonel Ford in the command of the second 
Maryland regiment. He was present at the battle of White 
Plains, and continued to serve till the end of the year 1776, 
when his corps was dismissed. Congress having resolved to 
raise additional regiments to serve during the war, with 
officers commissioned by Congress, Major Howard was one of 
the number allotted to Maryland, and in April 1777, we find 
him marching with his regiment to join the army at Rocky 
Hill, near Princeton, where he remained till the latter end of 
June, when receiving information of the death of his father, 
he returned home, till the following September, when he 
rejoined the army a few days after the Battle at Brandywine 
Springs, but in time to give proofs of his bravery at the bat- 
tle of Germantown, which afterwards so greatly distinguished 
him. 

Colonel Hall being disabled at the commencement of the 
battle of Germantown, Major Howard assumed the command 
and encountered the British corps of light infantry, posted 
some distance from the main body, and after a sharp conflict, 
pursued them through their encampment, Howard passing 
with his regiment amidst the standing tents, and in front of 
Chew's house, without any serious injury from the fire of the 
British. Having passed in safety, he advanced his Maryland 



72 JOHN EAGER HOWARD. 

troops about a quarter of a mile farther towards the main 
body of the, British troops, who now sallied forth from their 
temporary fortress, and attacked the Maryland corps, but a 
return fire killed the officer who had commanded the garrison, 
and no further molestation ensued. 

Major Howard still remained with the army, and was present 
at the battle of Monmouth, but we do not hear of any par- 
ticular share that he bore in that contest. In June, 1779, 
Major Howard received the commission of Lieutenant-Colonel 
of the fifth Maryland regiment in the army of the United 
States, and accordingly prepared for a southern march, to 
meet General Gates and his army at the camp at Deep Run, 
North Carolina. 

Having reinforced, they made night marches, in order to 
attack the British army, commanded as they thought by Lord 
Rawdon, but Cornwallis, who had lately arrived from Charles- 
ton with a strong reinforcement, was resolved to assault Gates 
in his camp. Gates, who had left his camp, and was pro- 
ceeding by night marches to meet his antagonist, was encoun- 
tered in the woods, where, to his great astonishment and 
dismay, he found that not Lord Rawdon, but Cornw^allis, was 
the commander of the British troops, and that the enemy 
was much superior in force to the American troops, A retreat 
now was impossible, and the only alternative offered, was to 
form a line of battle. The disheartening intelligence, that 
Cornwallis had reinforced the British army, and the darkness 
of night, may, in some measure, account for the conduct of 
the militia in the battle of Camden, for they gave way early 
in the action, thereby throwing the wiiole of the British troops 
entirely upon the two Maryland brigades, who maintained the 
contest obstinately against superior numbers, at one time 
making a partially successful attempt to use the bayonet. 
Colonel Howard drove the corps in front of him out of line ; 



JOHN EAGER HOWARD. 73 

and if the left wing of the American army had been able to 
occupy the attention of the British right, the day would have 
been propitious ; but attacked as he was in front and rear, by 
horse and foot, the American troops were overpowered and 
driven into the woods and swamps in all directions. Colonel 
Howard succeeded in keeping a few of his men together, and 
being occasionally joined by other officers and men, they 
reached Charlotte, a distance of sixty miles, in about three 
days: their only subsistence during that time was a few 
peaches. From this time, and until the arrival of General 
Greene in December, Colonel Howard was employed in 
equipping and forming into a battalion, four conipanies of 
light infantry, placed under his command, and then trans- 
ferred to Greene. The next conspicuous act of our hero 
was at the celebrated battle of the Cowpens, 17th of January, 
1781. We find from manuscript and printed documents of 
Colonel Howard himself, whose scrupulous accuracy places 
his authority beyond a doubt, that it was Howard, and not 
Morgan, who gave the order to the right company to change 
its front and protect his flank, and it was Howard also, who, 
on his own responsibility, ordered the charge with the bayo- 
net. We give his own language : — " Seeing my right flank 
was exposed to the enemy, I attempted to change the front of 
Wallace's company, (Virginia regulars;) in doing it, some 
confusion ensued, and first a part, and then the whole of the 
company commenced a retreat. The officers along the line 
seeing this, and supposing that orders had been given for a 
retreat, faced their men about and moved off. Morgan, who 
had mostly been with the militia, quickly rode up to me and 
expressed apprehensions of the event; but I soon removed 
his fears by pointing to the line, and observing that men were 
not beaten who retreated in that order. He then ordered me 
to keep with the men, until we came to the rising ground 
10 



/4 JOHN EAGER HOWARD 

near Washington's horse ; and he rode forward to fix on the 
most proper place for us to halt and face about. In a minute 
we had a perfect line. The enemy were now very near us. 
Our men commenced a very destructive fire; which they 
little expected, and a few rounds occasioned grfeat disorder in 
their ranks. While in this confusion I ordered a charge with 
the bayonet, which order was obeyed with great alacrity. 
As the line advanced, I observed their artillery a short dis- 
tance in front, and called to Captain Ewing, who w^as near 
me, to take it. Captain Anderson, (now General Anderson, 
of Montgomery county, Maryland,) hearing the order, also 
pushed for the same object ; and both being emulous for the 
prize, kept pace until near the first piece, when Anderson, by 
putting the end of his spontoon forward into the ground, 
made a long leap, which brought him upon the gun and gave 
him the honor of the prize. My attention was now drawn to 
an altercation of some of the men with an artillery man, who 
appeared to make it a point of honor not to surrender his 
match. The men, provoked by his obstinacy, would have 
bayoneted him on the spot, had I not interfered and desired 
them to spare the life of so brave a man. He then surren- 
dered his match. In the pursuit I was led to the right, in 
among the seventy-first, who were broken into squads ; and 
as I called to them to surrender, they laid down their arms, 
and the oflftcers delivered up their swords. Captain Duncan- 
son, of the seventy-first grenadiers, gave me his sword and 
stood by me. Upon getting on my horse, I found him pull- 
ing at my saddle, and he nearly unhorsed me. I expressed 
my displeasure, and asked what he was about. The explana- 
tion was, that they had orders to give no quarter, and they 
did not expect any ; and as my men were coming up, he was 
afraid they would use him ill. I admitted his excuse and 
put him into the care of a sergeant. T had messages from 



JOHN EAGER HOWARD. 75 

him many years afterwards, expressing his obligation for my 
having- saved his hfe." At the time Colonel Howard was 
"among the seventy -first," as he observes, he had in his 
hand at one time, seven swords of officers who had surren- 
dered to him personally. 

The moral effect of this celebrated battle was felt through- 
out the whole country. Congress voted a gold medal to 
Colonel Howard, [See Plate I,) descriptive of his gallant 
conduct at the Cowpens, which is described at the end of 
this sketch. 

The battle of the Cowpens is the only one on record, in 
which the American troops fairly conquered the British with 
the bayonet in open field. 

In the extreme danger incurred by the rear guard, in pro- 
tecting the retreat of Greene, Colonel Howard bore his full 
share ; in the battle of Guildford, which soon followed, we 
find his skill and bravery displayed in no common degree. In 
his own manuscript, he observes : — " My station being on the 
left of the first regiment, and next the cleared ground. Cap- 
tain Gibson, deputy adjutant-general, rode up to me, and 
informed me that a party of the enemy inferior in number to 
us, were pushing through the cleared ground and into our 
rear, and that if we w^ould face about and charge them, we 
might take them. I rode to Colonel Gunby and gave him 
the information. He did not hesitate to order the regiment 
to face about, and we were immediately engaged with the 
guards. Our men gave them some well directed fires, and 
we then advanced and continued firing. At this time Gun- 
by's horse was shot, and falling upon him, injured him, but 
not severely. Major Anderson was killed about this time. 
As we advanced, I observed Washington's horse, and as their 
movements were quicker than ours, they first charged and 
broke the enemy. My men followed very quickly, and we 



76 JOHN EAGER HOWARD. 

pressed through the guards, many of whom had been knocked 
down by the horse without being much hurt. We took some 
prisoners, and the whole were in our power. 

*' After passing through the guards, as before stated, I found 
myself in the cleared ground, and saw the seventy-first 
regiment near the court-house, and other columns of the 
enemy appearing in different directions. 

" Washington's horse having gone off, I found it necessary 
to retire, which I did leisurely ; but many of the guards who 
were lying on the ground, and who we supposed were wounded, 
got up and fired at us as we retired." 

Such is the unadorned narrative of this brave and gallant 
soldier. At the battle of Hobkirk's Hill, he also ably distin- 
guished himself At Eutaw he had the command of the 
second Maryland regiment, who distinguished themselves at 
the bayonet's point, and (according to Lee) in encountering 
the obstinate resistance of the Buffs, many of the Maryland- 
ers and of the Buffs were mutually transfixed with each 
other's bayonets. Colonel Howard, in a letter, says, " nearly 
one-half of my men were killed or wounded, and I had seven 
officers out of twelve disabled ; four killed, and three severely 
wounded." Towards the end of the battle. Colonel Howard 
received a ball in the left shoulder, which, passing entirely 
through, came out under the shoulder-blade, and disabled 
him. In a letter from General Greene to General Small- 
wood, written a few days after the battle, he says, " nothing 
could exceed the gallantry of the Maryland line, the uncom- 
mon bravery of Colonels Howard, Williams, and the other 
officers, and the free use of the bayonet, by this and some 
other corps, gave us the victory." 

As soon as he was able to be removed, Colonel Howard was 
taken home, followed by the affectionate commendations of 
his brother officers. General Greene, in writing to a friend, 



JOHN EAGER HOWARD. 77 

after his departure, says, "Colonel Howard is as good an 
officer as the world afforded, and deserves a statue of gold, 
no less than the Roman or Grecian heroes." 

At the conclusion of the war, Colonel Howard retired to 
his estates in Baltimore county, and soon after married Mar- 
garet, the daughter of Benjamin Chew, of Philadelphia. He 
was shortly after chosen governor of Maryland, which office 
he filled for three years. In 1795, General Washington 
invited him to a seat in his cabinet, but this was declined. 
In 1796, he was transferred from the legislature ot his own 
state to the senate of the United States, where he remained 
seven years ; he then returned again to his agricultural pur- 
suits, where he remained till the trumpet of war broke in 
upon his retirement in 1814. The capture of Washington 
by the enemy, and the meditated attack upon Baltimore, de- 
manded a preparation for resistance, and a troop of aged men 
was organized to render such services as their strength would 
allow, and Colonel Howard was, by unanimous consent, placed 
at its head. Colonel How^ard now began to feel the effects of 
his early wound, which at every slight exposure brought on 
severe pain, which made inroads in his constitution not easily 
repaired. In 1821 he had the misfortune to lose his eldest 
daughter, and in 1822 his eldest son, and in 1824, the loss of 
his devoted wife gave him a shock from which he never re- 
covered ; from that time his health began fast to decline, and 
in October, 1827, he resigned his life with characteristic for- 
titude and pious resignation. An obituary notice written by 
a celebrated dignitary of the Catholic church, demands a 
place in these pages. "One after another, the stars of our 
revolutionary firmament are sinking below the horizon. They 
rise in another hemisphere, as they set to us ; and the youth 
of other times will gaze upon their lustre, as he learns their 
names and marks them clustering into constellations, which 



78 .lOHX EAGER HOWARD. 

will recall to his mind some interesting event of our period of 
struggle." An able historiographer thus speaks of the lament- 
ed Howard: •• In private life he was distinguished for the 
amenity of his manners, his hospitality, and his extensive 
and useful knowledge. He possessed a memory uncommonly 
minute, and a love of information that never sank under the 
labor of acquisition. These faculties rendered him, perhaps, 
the most accurate repository of the history of his own time, 
in this or any other country. His habits of life were con- 
templative, cautious, scrupulously just, and regulated by the 
strictest method. Few men have enjoyed a more enviable 
lot : — his youth distinguished in the field, his age in the 
council and every period solaced by the attachment of friends. 
Affluent in fortune, as rich in public regard, and blessed in 
his domestic and personal associations, he has glided away 
from the small band of liis compatriots, as full of honors as of 
years. The example of such a citizen is a legacy to his 
country, of more Mortli than the precepts of an age.'' 

MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Victory at the Cowpens, N. Carolina. 

Device. — An officer mounted, with uplifted sword, pursuing 
an officer on foot, bearing a stand of colors : Victory descend- 
ing in front over the former, holding a wreath in her right 
hand over his head ; a palm-branch in her left hand. 

Legend. — John Eager Howard, legionis peditum prjefecto 
comitia Americana. 

Reverse Inscription — {n-ifhin a laurel >rrcath.) — Quod in 
nutantem hostium aciem sabito irruens, prceclai-um beilica? 
virtutis specimen dedit in pugna, ad CoM'pens, 17th January, 
1781. 



COL. WILLIAM A. WASHINGTON. 



William Augustine Washington was the eldest son of 
Baiiy Washington, of Stafford county, Vh'gmia. The sub- 
ject of these memoirs had commenced his studies for the 
church, when the war sound of the revolution rung in his 
ears ; he was one of those who exerted such an exalted influ- 
ence throughout the whole campaign, that his biographers 
distinguish him as the " modern Marcellus." 

Colonel Washino^ton was a scholar of rare attainments, 
especially in the Greek language, in which, in his day, he 
was unequalled. At the request of his relative, General 
George Washington, he was appointed to the command of a 
company of infantry, in the third regiment of the Virginia 
line. 

He was distinguished for his manly fortitude in sustaining 
the greatest difficulties and dangers. 

He led one of the attacking columns, at the surprise of the 
Hessians at Trenton, where he received a severe wound from 
a musket-ball which passed entirely through his hand. He 
was afterwards appointed a major in a regiment of dragoons, 



80 COLONEL WILLIAM A. WASHINGTON. 

commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Baylor, which was shortly 
after surprised by a detachment of the enemy, commanded 
by General Grey, and almost cut to pieces. Our hero for- 
tunately escaped, and in the year following joined the army 
of General Lincoln, of South Carolina, with whose troops he 
was constantly employed, in encounters with the British, first, 
near Ashley Ferry, where he drove back the cavalry of the 
British legion, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Tarleton, 
and took several prisoners : but being unsupported by infantry, 
he gained but little advantage or success. 

It has been asserted, and it is believed from good authority, 
that Colonel Washington and Tarleton were personally en- 
gaged, and that during the skirmish, Tarleton lost three of 
his fingers from a stroke from the sword of Colonel Washing- 
ton. An anecdote is related and believed to be correct, re- 
specting the meeting of these two officers : it is as follows : — 
Tarleton, when on a visit to an American family, remarked, 
that he should be glad to get another look at this Colonel 
Washington, of whom he had heard so much : when a lady 
in company quickly observed, " What a pity Colonel Tarle- 
ton did not turn his head when he lost his fingers !" Sub- 
sequently, Colonel Washington was attached to the light 
corps, commanded by General Morgan ; and by an ingenious 
stratagem carried a valuable post in possession of the British, 
called Rugely's, and took a great number of prisoners, with- 
out firing a single shot. Aware of the character of his op- 
ponent, Colonel Rugely, he placed a pine log on the wheels 
of a wagon, so painted as to have the appearance, at a dis- 
tance, of a field-piece, threatening immediate destruction if 
any resistance should be offered. The aff'righted Colonel 
begged for quarter and surrendered without difficulty ! 

Next foUoM^ed the brilliant victory of the Cowpens, in 
which Colonel Washington contributed in no small degree. 



COLONEL WILLIAM A. WASHINGTON. 81 

His ardor in this contest had nearly cost him his life. Ani- 
mating the troops to the pursuit by his example, he advanced 
so far as to be surrounded by several British officers. At the 
moment when the sword of one of them was actually raised 
for his destruction, his brave bugleman fired a pistol which 
disabled the British officer, and saved the life of his gallant 
commander. Shortly after his cavalry was added to a body 
of horse and foot selected by General Greene, and placed 
under the command of Colonel Williams. Colonel Wash- 
ington was happy to a degree in baffling the effiDrts of Corn- 
wallis to force Greene to a battle. He took a very conspicu- 
ous part in the contest at Guildford Courthouse, where, by a 
spirited and daring charge, he broke the British regiment of 
guards, commanded by Colonel Stewart, who was killed ; and 
with the brave Colonel Howard and his gallant Marylanders, 
nearly effected their entire destruction. Colonel Garden re- 
lates the following remarks made to him by an officer of 
distinction in the army of the enemy : — " I was near Gene- 
ral Webster when the charge was made by Washington. 
The desperate situation of the guards had its effect on all 
around. An American officer quickly perceiving it, rode up 
to the British line and called aloud, ' Surrender, gentlemen, 
and be certain of good quarters.' Terrified by appearances, 
and concluding that defeat was inevitable, the soldiers of the 
regiment of De Bose were actually throwing down their arms. 
In the midst of the confusion, General Webster, famed for 
great presence of mind, exclaimed, ' Unless that gallant fellow 
is taken off, we are lost.' A field-piece at this moment was 
brought up, and directed to be fired into the throng where the 
guards now appeared to be greatly outnumbered, and did so 
with the happiest success ; the cavalry wheeled off, the re- 
mains of the battalion rallied, and the army was saved." 
At Hobkirk Hill, Colonel Washington added another wreath 
11 



82 COLONEL WILLIAM A. WASHINGTON. 

to his well-earned laurels. Famous for skillful maneuvering, 
he cut off the rear of the British line, capturing eleven offi- 
cers and two hundred men, but the early retreat of the Ameri- 
can forces prevented his bringing more than fifty of his pri- 
soners off the field ; these, however, contained the eleven 
officers. At the battle of Eutaw, his repeated charges on the 
British light infantry were signalized by extraordinary bravery 
and valor. In an effort which required all his courage, his 
horse wa,s shot from under him, and becoming entangled as 
he fell, he was taken prisoner. This was the closing scene 
of his military performances, which had always been charac- 
terized by ardor, bravery and decision ; he knew^ danger only 
by name, and though unfortunate at last, no officer in the 
American revolution ever in a higher degree merited success. 

He remained a prisoner until the close of the war, when 
he retired to his plantation at Sandy Hill, about thirty miles 
from Charleston, South Carolina. He served for several 
years as a member of the legislature, during which service he 
was persuaded to become a candidate for the office of governor; 
but this honor he respectfully declined. 

He married a lady to whom he had become attached during 
his imprisonment. By her he had a son and daughter. After 
a long and tedious illness, borne by the most heroic and 
Christian fortitude, he died on the 6th of March, 1810. 

By a resolve of Congress, 9th March, 1781, which stated 
that eighty cavalry and two hundred and thirty-seven infantry 
of the United States, and five hundred and fifty-three south- 
ern militia, obtained a complete victory over a select and well- 
appointed detachment of more than eleven hundred British, 
commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Tarleton, a silver medal 
was ordered to be struck and presented to Colonel Washington, 
of which the following is a description : — 



COLONEL WILLIAM A. WASHINGTON. 83 

Occasion. — Victory at the Cowpens, North Carolina. 

Device. — An officer mounted at the head of a body of 
cavalry, charging flying troops : Victory over the heads of 
the Americans, holding a laurel crown in her right hand, and 
a palm branch in her left. 

Legend. — Gulielmo Washington legionis equit. Prsefecto 
comitia Americana. 

Reverse. — Quod parva militum manu strenue prospectus 
hostes, virtutis ingenitse prseclarum specionen dedit in pregna 
ad Cowpens, 17th January, 1781. (Within a laurel crown.) 
(•SeeTlate T.) 



MAJOR HENRY LEE. 



Henry Lee, the subject of the following sketch, was 
born in Virginia on the 29th of January, 1756. His family 
was one of the most respectable among the first settlers of 
that state. His father was for many years a member of the 
provincial assembly of Virginia. Henry Lee was prepared 
for college by a private tutor at his father's residence, and 
afterwards graduated at Princeton College, New Jersey, 
under the superintendence of Dr. Witherspoon, then Presi- 
dent. 

Two years after his graduation, and in the twentieth of 
his age, he was appointed to the command, as captain, of one 
of the six companies of cavalry, raised by his native state ; 
the whole under the command of Colonel Theodoric Bland. 

During the campaigns of 1775 and 1776, there was not a 
single troop of horse attached to the continental army. Gene- 
ral Washington, seeing the danger arising from this, was 
urgent in his applications to Congress, and consequently the 
Virginia regiment was received into the service of the United 
States. 

Here, under the immediate eye of the commander-in-chief, 
his skill in discipline and oallant bearing rapidly acquired 



MAJOR HENRY LEE. -85 

confidence. He was promoted to the rank of Major, ^Wth the 
command of a separate corps of cavalry. From his able and 
rigorous attention to his horses and men, he was enabled at 
all times to act with promptness and efficiency. Not only in 
attacking light parties of the enemy, but in foraging and 
obtaining information, he rendered most essential service to 
the American army. 

As it was the province of Lee to lay near the British lines 
to discover their movements, an attempt was made to cut off 
both him and his troops. A body of British cavalry, amount- 
ing to about two hundred men, made a circuitous route, seiz- 
ing four of his patrols, and came unexpectedly upon him in 
his stone house used as quarters. He had with him at the 
time but ten men ; the majority were dispersed in search of 
forage. 

With this small but gallant band, he made such a resolute 
and determined defence, that the enemy hastily retreated, 
after having four men and several horses killed, with one 
officer and three men wounded. This gallant and almost 
miraculous affair called forth from his commander-in-chief 
marks of his warmest approbation. Congress also voted him 
their thanks and congratulations upon his fortunate escape. 
In the year 1779, Lee again called forth the approbation of 
his country, by the successful execution of a plan for the 
capture of the British garrison, stationed at Paulus Hook, 
near New York. 

At the head of about three hundred men, he completely 
surprised the garrison, and after taking one hundred and sixty 
prisoners, retreated with the loss of but two men killed and 
three wounded. 

As a reward for the "prudence, skill and bravery" shown 
by Major Lee in the affair of Paulus Hook, Congress ordered 



86 MAJOR HENRY LEE. 

a gold medal to be struck, under the direction of the board 
of treasury, and presented to him ; a description of which 
will be given at the end of this memoir. 

Early in 1780, he returned with his legion to the south, 
having been previously promoted to the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel, to join General Greene, who was then watching the 
movements of Cornwallis. 

At the celebrated retreat of Greene, before Cornwallis, the 
legion of Major Lee 'formed the rear-guard of the American 
army ; and so hasty was the pursuit, that Lee, coming in con- 
tact with the dragoons of Tarleton, in a successful charge, 
killed eighteen, and made a captain and fifteen privates 
prisoners. When the safety of General Greene's retreat was 
certain, Lee, with Colonel Pickins, was detached to intercept 
and watch the movements of Lord Cornwallis. Lee now- 
formed a plan to surprise Tarleton, and on their way to exe- 
cute the plan, they fell in with some messengers, dispatched 
by some loyalists to Tarleton, to apprise him of his situation. 
These messengers, mistaking the legion of Lee for the British, 
freely communicated the object of their errand, which enabled 
Lee to act accordingly. 

He particularly distinguished himself in the battle of Guild- 
ford. Afterwards he succeeded in capturing Fort Cornwallis, 
and other forts. 

In the battle of Eutaw Springs, which soon followed, his 
military talents were again exerted, and again contributed in 
no small degree to the successful issue of the day. Our hero 
was next dispatched by General Greene to lay before his 
commander-in-chief the exigencies of the troops luider his 
command. Washington was then eno-ao^ed in the siege of 
Yorktown, and Lee arrived a few days only before its surren- 
der. He was present at that imposing and eventful ceremony. 



MAJOR HENRY LEE. 87 

and, after having executed his commission, returned again to 
the south. The health of Colonel Lee had been much im- 
paired by the fatigues and hardships he had undergone; 
besides, he fancied himself neglected, and his services under- 
rated. Under the influence of these feelings, he sought and 
obtained permission to retire from the army. Soon after his 
return to Virginia, he married Matilda, the daughter of Philip 
Ludwell Lee, and settled at Stratford, in Westmoreland 
county. 

In 1786, he vt^as appointed a delegate in Congress from 
Virginia, in which body he remained till the constitution was 
adopted. In 1791, he was chosen governor of Virginia, and 
retained the office three years. He was a member of Con- 
gress at the death of General Washington, and was appointed 
by Congress to deliver an eulogy on the occasion. He re- 
tained his seat in Congress until the election of Jefferson to 
the chief magistracy, when he retired into private life. The 
last years of this gallant officer were clouded by pecuniary 
embarrassments. The profuse and extravagant mode of living 
in Virginia ruined his estate, and obliged him for some time 
to submit to the incarceration of a prison. 

During his confinement he composed his memoirs of the 
southern campaign, in which he had been one of the princi- 
pal actors ; the events of which he had so good an opportu- 
nity of knowing. In hopes of restoring his broken health, 
Colonel Lee repaired to the West Indies, in order to try a 
warmer and more equable climate ; but his hopes proved futile, 
and in 1818, on his return to the United States, he died on 
the 25th of March, at the house of Mrs. Shaw, on Cumber- 
land Island, near St. Mary's, Georgia, the daughter of his old 
friend and companion in arms, General Greene. 



88 MAJOR HENRY LEE. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL 

Occasion. — Attack on Paiilus Hook. 

Device. — Bust of Colonel Lee. 

Legend. — Henrico Lee. equit prsefecto. 

Exergue. — Comitia Americana. 

Reverse. — Non obstantib fluminibus, vallis astiitia et vir- 
tute bellica. parva nianu liostes vicit victosq. Armis hiimani- 
tate devinxit. In men. pugn. ad Panlus Hook, 19tti August, 
1779. (fe Plate IV.) 



ri.iic 




.J 









//./. ri,„,.-,/n-, .,,: 



GEN. WINFIELD SCOTT. 



WiNFiELD Scott was born on the 13th of June, 1785, m 
the county of Dinwiddle, near Petersburg, Virginia. De- 
signed for the profession of the law, he received a liberal 
education, and graduated at William and Mary College in 
that state. In 1806, having completed his studies, he com- 
menced practice at the bar, with talents and acquirements 
which bade fair to introduce him to a very lucrative business. 
In 1807, the aggressions upon our defenceless commerce, by 
European powers, and the outrage upon the frigate Chesa- 
peake, roused the indignant feelings of the nation. Redress 
was promptly called for, and the more ardent of our country- 
men prepared for an immediate war. One of the first mea- 
sures, at the next session of Congress, was to pass a bill for 
the increase of the army, and young Scott forsook the law, 
and was appointed a captain in a regiment of light artillery ; 
in which capacity he remained prosecuting, with his usual 
zeal, his military studies, until the declaration of war in 1812, 
which opened a more arduous field for the exercise of his 
brilliant talents. 

On the 6th of July, 1812, Scott was promoted to the rank 
of Lieutenant-Colonel in the second regiment of artillery ; 
12 



90 GENERAL WINFTELD SCOTT. 

and arrived on the Niagara frontier, with the companies of 
Towson and Barker, and was posted at Black Rock, to pro- 
tect the navy yard at that place. 

On the 13th of October, the attack upon Queenstown, 
under Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, took place. 

On the day previous, Lieutenant-Colonel Scott had arrived 
with his regiment at Schlosser, twelve miles from Lew^iston. 
The object of tiiis movement was to dispossess the enemy 
from the fort and village of Queenstown Heights, and thus to 
make a lodgment for the American troops on the Canada 
shore, the invasion of Canada being then the leading object 
of the northern campaign. Anxious to be near the scene of 
action, Scott obtained permission to march his regiment to 
Lewiston, and to use his artillery as circumstances might di- 
rect. In the early part of the action which follo^\'ed he bore 
no part; but Colonels Van Rensselaer and Fenwick having 
fallen severely wounded. Colonel Scott's request to cross the 
river was finally acceded to. The enemy was driven from 
the heights, which were now in the possession of the Ameri- 
cans, who gallantly repulsed an attack" under General Brock, 
who had come up ^^ith reinforcements, but was himself killed 
in the engag-ement. 

On his arrival, Colonel Scott found the troops in great 
disorder. Announcing his name and rank, he immediately 
formed them into line. Colonel Scott's attention was first 
directed to an eighteen pounder, which the enemy, in his 
retreat, had left in the hands of the Americans, after having 
hastily spiked it ; and he proceeded in person to direct the 
measures for rendering the piece again useful. Returning in 
a short time, he was surprised to find a large body of Indians 
preparing to attack the American lines, while the troops, 
already in some confusion, were on the point of giving way. 
His presence soon changed the state of affairs, and the savages 



GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. 91 

were compelled to make a hasty retreat. With an unanimous 
burst of enthusiasm, the line suddenly rallied from right to 
left, threw itself forward upon the enemy, putting him to 
precipitate flight, and leaving the ground strewed with the 
dead and wounded. In this manner successive conflicts were 
kept up, till a reinforcement of British arrived, under the 
command of Major General Sheaffe. 

Colonel Scott now perceiving that a crisis must be near at 
hand, every effort was made by the commanding officers to 
induce the American militia, on the opposite side of the river, 
to cross over to the assistance of their countrymen, but in 
vain. Entreaty was wasted upon them, and as all the boats 
were upon the American side, the little band under Scott was 
left to await a fate from which there was no retreat. All had 
now been done that was required by honor, and longer re- 
sistance would only have sacrificed in vain the lives of brave 
men. Terms of capitulation being agreed upon, Colonel 
Scott surrendered into the hands of the enemy his whole 
force, now reduced to one hundred and thirty-nine regulars, 
and one hundred and fifty-four militia ; in all two hundred 
and ninety-three men. Thus ended the battle of Queens- 
town Heights; an engagement desultory in its movements, 
but unfortunate in its results. From Queenstown, Scott was 
sent to Quebec ; whence, upon being exchanged, he soon after 
embarked for Boston. Previous to this, however, one of those 
scenes occurred in which the decision of character of Colonel 
Scott was most strikingly displayed. 

When the prisoners were embarked on board the transport 
to be conveyed to Boston, they were first mustered on the 
deck by British officers, and every man whose accent betrayed 
his British birth, was set apart to be sent to England as a 
traitor, there to be tried and executed. As soon as Scott 
became aware of what was going on, he uistantly forbade his 



0-2 GENERAL WIXFIELD SCOTT. 

soldiers to make further answer. Twenty-three had already 
been set apart for a shameful death. After the command from 
their Colonel, no threats from the British officer could induce 
the men again to speak. Scott, amidst constant interrup- 
tions from the British officer, addressed the men. encouraged 
them to be of good cheer, and solemnly pledged himself to 
them, that if a hair of the head of one of them was touched, 
because of their having served in the American army, retalia- 
tion should be made upon British prisoners in the hands of 
the Americans. These twenty-three men. all Irish, were, 
nevertheless, put in irons and sent to England, bearing with 
them the pledo-e of a gallant soldier, who, they knew, would 
not fail them. His lirst care, on his arrival at Boston, was to 
lay the whole circumstances before the secretary of war. who 
communicated the same to Congress. A law was passed vest- 
ing the President with the power of retahation. and two 
months after, at the capture of Fort George, Scott having 
made manv prisoners, true to his pledge, selected twenty- 
three of his prisoners, and contined them to abide the fate of 
the twentv-three naturalized Americans. In making this 
selection, Scott was careful not to include a single Irishman. 
The British authorities saw the peril, and, it may be pre- 
sumed, the injustice of the step they had taken, and not one 
of the prisoners was tried or harmed. The sequel to the 
foregoins: narrative is told bv his biographer, and must be 
read with interest. In July. ISlo, when peace had been some 
months concluded, and Scott (then a major-general), was pass- 
ing alono^ on the East River side of the city of New York, 
he was attracted by loud cheers and bustle on one of the 
piers. He approached the scene, and great was his delight 
to tind that it was the cheer of his old Irish friends, in whose 
behalf he had interfered at Quebec, and who had that moment 
landed m triumph, after a continement of more than two 



GENERAL WINFIEIJ) SCOTT. 93 

years in English prisons ! He was quickly recognized by 
them, hailed as their deliverer, and nearly crushed by their 
warm-hearted embraces ! Twenty-one were present, two 
havinor died natural deaths. Scott had not then recovered 
from the wounds he had received in the bloody battle of the 
Niagara, and was about to embark on a voyage to Europe. 
Yet, in conformity with the promises of friendship he had 
made with these men, he found time to write to the depart- 
ments at Washington, and solicit for them their patents for 
land bounties, and their long arrearages of pay. He was 
successful, and they were at length restored both to their 
adopted country and their promised rewards. Several of 
these brave sons of Ireland are yet alive, and can testify to 
the truth of this narrative. 

Shortly after the capture of York, the capital of Upper 
Canada, in 1813, Colonel Scott joined the army at Fort 
Niagara. He joined in the capacity of adjutant-general, 
(chief of the staff,) under the command of Major-General 
Dearborn. Though thus engaged in staff duties, he insisted 
upon the right, and it was conceded, of commanding his own 
regiment on extraordinary occasions. On the British side of 
the Niagara was a peninsula, of which Fort George was the 
defence. This position General Dearborn was determined to 
carry. The first act of Colonel Scott was in leading the 
advanced column of the attack, which so completely suc- 
ceeded that the enemy was driven from the work and the field ; 
and but for repeated and peremptory orders, Scott would 
probably have captured the whole British force. Fort George, 
the colors of which had been taken down by Colonel Scott 
himself, became the head quarters of the American troops, 
and in command of it Colonel Scott was left, when the main 
body of the army went down the St. Lawrence, in the sum- 
mer of that year, to attack Montreal. The whole summer 



94 GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. 

passed without any attack from the British, when Scott 
obtained permission to turn Fort George over to General 
McLure, of the New York militia, and to join the main army 
at Sacket's Harbor ; marching to the mouth of the Genesee 
river, where the commander-in-chief promised that transports 
should meet him. It is well known that the expedition, after 
exciting much expectation, finally resulted in utter failure. 
The troops endured great fatigue, and encountered consider- 
able danger in the difficult and perilous navigation of the St. 
Lawrence, without obtaining an opportunity of distinguishing 
themselves or benefiting their country. This unlucky cam- 
paign was, however, brilliantly redeemed by that of the fol- 
lowing year. On the 9th of March, 1814, Colonel Scott was 
promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, and he joined 
General Brown on his route to Niagara, in the commence- 
ment of the next month. 

Soon after General Brown was called to Sacket's Harbor, 
and the command, in consequence, devolved upon General 
Scott, who immediately assembled the army and established 
a camp of instruction. His whole attention was now given 
to perfecting the discipline of the troops, to give them that 
celerity and combination of movement, which in modern 
times has made war a science, and rendered individual 
prowess of so little avail. For two months and a half the 
troops were drilled daily, from seven to nine hours each day, 
until finally they exhibited a perfection of discipline never 
before attained in our army. They were now prepared to 
meet on terms of equality the veteran troops of the enemy, 
and they soon had an opportunity of showing the advantages 
they had derived from their instruction. In June, Major 
General Brown reached Buffalo with reinforcements, and in 
the commencement of the next month the campaign was 
opened. 



GENERAL WTNFIELD SCOTT. 95 

The Niagara was passed on the 3d of July in two hrigades, 
Scott's and Ripley's, the former below, the latter above Fort 
Erie, which almost immediately surrendered. On the morn- 
ing of the 4th, the army moved towards Chippewa, General 
Scott's brio^ade being- in advance ; and on the eveninor of the 
same day, took up a position on the bank of Street's Creek, 
about two miles distant from the British encampment. The 
stream was in front of the American position, having beyond 
it an extensive plain ; its right rested upon the Niagara, and 
its left upon a wood. On the following day the British 
militia and the Indians having occupied the wood, commenced 
annoying the American piquets from it, until Brigadier Gene- 
ral Porter, at the head of his brigade of militia and friendly 
Indians, drove the enemy from the wood back upon the Chip- 
pewa. The British regulars being here supported by their 
whole army, drawn out in line and advancing to the attack. 
General Porter, in his turn, was compelled to give way. The 
heaviness of the firing informed General Brown of the ad- 
vance of the main body of the enemy. It was now about 
four o'clock in the afternoon. General Scott was at this 
moment adyancing with his brigade to drill upon the plain, 
on which the battle was afterwards fought. On the march 
he met General Brown, who said to him, " The enemy is 
advancing. You will have a fight." Beyond this brief 
remark, Scott received no further orders during the day. 
General Brown passed to the rear, to put Ripley's brigade in 
motion, and to reassemble the light troops behind Street's 
Creek. It was not till he arrived at the bridge over Street's 
Creek, two hundred yards to the right of his camp of the 
night before, that Scott saw the enemy. 

The army of Riall had crossed the bridge over Chippewa, 
and displayed itself on the plain before described. It was 
composed of the one hundredth regiment, under Lieutenant- 



96 GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. 

Colonel, the Marquis of Twcedalo : the tirst. or Koyal Scots, 
under Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon : a portion of the eighth, 
or King's own regiment : a detachment of the royal artillery; 
a detachment of the royal nineteenth light dragoons ; and a 
portion of Canada militia and Indians. The main body of 
these troops were among the best in the British army. This 
force was supported by a heavy battery of nine pieces, within 
point blank range of the American troops. Under the tire of 
this battery, the corps of General Scott passed the bridge in 
perfect order, but with some loss. His tirst and second battal- 
ions, under jVIajors Leavenworth and McNeil, after crossing, 
formed a line to the front, which brouo-lit them opposed re- 
spectively to the left and centi"e of the enemy. The third 
battalion under Major, (now General Jessup,) obliqued in 
column to the left, and advanced to attack the right of the 
enemy, which extended into the wood. Captain (now Gene- 
ral Towson) with his artillerv. was stationed on the right. 
resting in the Chippewa road. General Scott soon perceived 
that, althouuh there were no intervals in the British line, yet 
their right wing outtianked his left. 

To remedy this ditiiculty, the movement of Jessup was 
caused, and the interval between the battalions of Leaven- 
worth and McNeil on the plain, was greatlv enlaro-ed. These 
evolutions were executed rapidly and with great precision, 
under the lire oi both musketry and artillerv. The action 
soon became general; Jessup. having engaged and broken off 
the right wino- of the enemy, while their main body continuetl 
to advance, gave their army a new liank. Taking advantage 
of this circumstance, and assisted bv the enlarged interval 
between the battalions of Leavenworth and McNeil, General 
Scott threw the battalion of the latter forward upon its right 
tlaiik, so as to stand obliquely to the charge ot the eneinv, 
outtianking them upon the right. This movement, executed 



GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. 97 

with precision, together with the steadiness of our troops and 
the heavy fire from the artillery, decided the fate of the day. 
The British army retreated a short distance in good order, 
then broke, and fled in confusion to their entrenchments, be- 
yond the Chippewa. Thus was the whole British line fairly 
routed, in a field action, on an open plain. They fled to their 
entrenchments beyond the Chippewa, hotly pursued by Scott, 
to the distance of half-musket shot of Chippewa bridge. He 
took many prisoners, leaving the plain strewed with the dead 
and wounded of both nations. Justly, indeed, did General 
Brown, in his official report of the battle, say : — " Brigadier- 
General Scott is entitled to the highest praise our country 
can bestow : to him, more than to any other man, I am in- 
debted for the victory of the 5th of July." 

The fight was fierce and bloody in an unwonted degree, 
the killed on both sides amounting to eight hundred and 
thirty, out of about four thousand engaged — more than one 
in five. This gallant action was followed in just three weeks 
by another yet more decisive of the courage and discipUne 
of the American army — that at Lundy's Lane. 

General Riall, unknown to General Brown, had been 
largely reinforced by General Drummond from below ; and 
when, on the morning of the 26th of July, General Scott, in 
advance, was on a march to attack General Riall's forces, he 
suddenly came upon the British troops, which, reinforced 
that very day by Drummond, were themselves bent on attack. 
Scott had with him but four small battalions, commanded 
by Brady, Jessup, Leavenworth and McNeil; and Towson's 
artillery, with Captain Harris' detachment of regular and 
irregular cavalry. The whole column did not exceed one 
thousand three hundred men. With this small force, Scott 
found himself in the presence of a superior body. His posi- 
13 



98 GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. 

tioii was critical, but it was one of those where promptness 
and decision of action must supply the want of battalions. 

Dispatching officers to the rear to apprise General Brown 
that the whole British army was before him, General Scott 
at once engaged the enemy, who all the while believed they 
had to do with the whole of General Brown's army, not at all 
expecting that a mere detachment of it would venture upon 
the apparently desperate course of encountering such greatly 
superior numbers as the British knew they had in the field. 
The battle beofan about half an hour before sunset. The armies 
were drawn out near the shores of that rapid river whose 
current mingles lake with lake ; and as his able biographer 
beautifully observes : — " Hard by was the Cataract, whose 
world of waters rushes over the precipice, and rushing, roars 
into the gulf below ! The ceaseless spray rises up, like in- 
cense, to the Eternal Father ! The beams of sun, and moon, 
and stars, fall ceaselessly on that spray, and are sent back in 
many-colored hues to the source of light ! So it was when, 
wheelinsr into the field of battle, the slant beams of the set- 
ting sun, returning from the spray, encircled the advancing 
column with rainbow colors ! The sun went down, to many 
an eye, no more to rise on earth ! With the darkness came 
the greater rage of battle — charge after charge was made. 
For a time the faint beams of the moon struggled with the 
smoke, and gave a little light to the combatants ; but it was 
but little. The moon itself became obscured, and no light, 
save the rapid flashes of musket and cannon, pierced the 
heavy clouds. The fight raged in the darkness of the night. 
From the height on the ridge, the battery of the enemy still 
poured its deadly fire. It was then the gallant Miller said, 
'I WILL try.' It was then that Scott piloted his column 
through darkness to Lundy's Lane. It was then that brave 



GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. 99 

regiment charged to the cannon's mouth. The battery was 
taken. The victory rests with the American army." 

Twice had Scott charged through the British Unes — two 
horses had been killed under him — he was wounded in the 
side — and about eleven o'clock at night, on foot, and yet fight- 
ing, he was finally disabled by a shot which shattered the left 
shoulder, and he was borne away about midnight from the 
battle — his commander. General Brown, having been pre- 
viously, in like manner, carried away wounded from the field. 
The w^ounds of General Scott, which were severe, confined 
him for a long time ; nor had he again an opportunity of dis- 
tinguishing himself before the conclusion of peace put an 
end to all active service in the field. In the mean time his 
sufferings were alleviated by the testimonials of the approba- 
tion and gratitude of his countrymen. Congress ordered a 
vote of thanks, and a gold medal {See Plate V). Virginia and 
New York each presented valuable swords. He was also 
elected an honorary member of the Cincinnati, and number- 
less states named new counties after him. In the long interval 
of comparative inaction which followed the close of the war, 
General Scott's services were made available to the general 
government, — first, in that most painful task of reducing the 
army to a peace establishment, which necessarily imposed on 
the general great responsibility. The next important benefit 
rendered, and which, perhaps, was not the least of all the 
many he was capable of rendering, was to translate from the 
French, prepare, digest, and adapt to our service, a complete 
system of military tactics. In the execution of this trust, his 
previous military studies gave him great facilities and advan- 
tages over his brother officers. 

In March, 1817, General Scott was married to Miss Maria 
Mayo, daughter of John Mayo, Esq., of Richmond, Virginia 
— a lady whose charms and accomplishments are much ad- 



100 GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. 

mired both in this country and in Europe. They have had 
several daughters, but no living son. 

Such is the brief memoir of General Winfield Scott, ex- 
tracted from his life, so ably portrayed by Edward D. Mans- 
field, Esq. General Scott is now in the sixty-second year of 
his age, and retains, to a remarkable degree, all the vigor and 
buoyancy of youth. At the head of our armies at war with a 
neighboring republic, all eyes are directed to him as the chief 
of that gallant band upon whom must depend the honor and 
success of our arms. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL PRESENTED TO GENERAL SCOTT. 

Occasion. — Battles of Chippewa and Niagara. 

Device. — Bust of General Scott. 

Legend. — Major General Winfield Scott. 

Reverse. — Resolution of Congress, November 3d, 1814. 
Battles of Chippewa, July 5th, 1814; Niagara, July 25th, 
1814. Surrounded by a wreath of laurel and palm entwining 
a snake. 



GEN. E. P. GAINES. 



Edmund Pendleton Gaines was born in the county of 
Culpepper, Virginia, on the 20th of March, 1777, His father, 
James Gaines, served in the latter part of the revolutionary 
war at the head of a company of volunteers, and having re- 
moved with his family to the north-west border of North Caro- 
lina, he was soon after chosen a member of the legislature of 
that state. He was the nephew of Edmund Pendleton, for 
many years presiding judge of the Court of Appeals, in Vir- 
ginia, and one of those illustrious statesmen whose services 
were most prominent in the cause which produced a Wash- 
ington, and enrolled the names of Jefferson, Madison, Ran- 
dolph and Mason, among the most distinguished in the annals 
of American history. To the early affectionate solicitude and 
pious care of a highly gifted mother, may be imputed the strict 
integrity, and devoted sense of duty, which have always dis- 
tinguished the subject of this memoir; to w^hose prudence 
and excellent example he acknowledges himself indebted for 
the high sense of honor and rectitude which have been his 
support amid the trying and eventful scenes of his life. 



102 GENERAL E. P. GAINES. 

At the close of the war of independence, his father returned 
to his estate in North Carolina, consisting of some hundred 
acres. He, like most of his neighbors, had lost his money in 
the form of valueless continental bills. In these circum- 
stances, at this period, all classes were more or less involved. 

Edmund, now in his thirteenth year, assisted his father in 
the toils of agriculture. His heart became early imbued with 
the pleasi^es which result from the performance of duties, 
and his health invigorated by such wholesome exercise. 

About this period, his father removed his family to Sullivan 
county, (afterwards the eastern part of Tennessee,) in the 
immediate vicinity of which the Cherokee Indians were con- 
stantly committing depredations. With these Indians the 
United States were at that time, and continued to be for 
several years afterwards, at war. Surrounded by hostilities, 
our hero's thoughts now actually turned to arms, and he 
employed his leisure hours in the study of such military 
works as were within his reach. By the time he was four- 
teen, he had acquired such skill in the management of the 
rifle, as to excel most of his young associates. At the age of 
eighteen, he was elected lieutenant of a rifle company of 
volunteers, which was raised at that time as a terror to the 
Cherokees, who were a continual annoyance to the neighbor- 
hood. In January, 1799, he was appointed an ensign, and 
attached to the sixth United States regiment, and ordered on 
duty in the recruiting service. In the following year the sixth 
regiment was disbanded, and Ensign Gaines was transferred 
to the fourth infantry, as second lieutenant. 

In 1801, Colonel Butler, who commanded the fourth regi- 
ment, was instructed to select the subalterns of that regiment 
best qualified for making a topographical survey from Nash- 
ville to Natchez, for the location of a militarv road. 



GENERAL E. P. GAINES. 103 

He appointed Lieutenant Gaines, who, in the performance 
of this duty, and in the survey of certain Indian boundary 
lines, near the Choctaw nation, was engaged until the win- 
ter of 1804. In that year, Spain having refused to with- 
draw her troops from the military posts of Mobile and Baton 
Rouge, and deliver up the country lying between the island 
of Orleans and the rivers Iberville, Mississippi and Perdido, 
as a part of Louisiana, the President of the United States 
determined to appoint a military collector of the customs, for 
the district of Mobile, and appointed Lieutenant Gaines to 
that office. 

He accordingly was stationed at Fort Stoddart, thirty-six 
miles north of the town of Mobile, in the confident expecta- 
tion of sooner or later having the honor of taking possession 
of the disputed territory. In 1806, in addition to the duties 
hitherto assigned to him. Lieutenant Gaines was appointed 
postmaster, and also agent to the postmaster-general, with 
authority to suspend all postmasters and mail contractors 
who were in any wise aiding persons supposed to be engaged 
in the machinations of Colonel Burr. In the interim, he 
was promoted to a captaincy. Captain Gaines, as command- 
ant of Fort Stoddart, was authorized to employ such of the 
United States troops as should be deemed necessary for the 
protection of the mail, and inspectors of the revenue between 
the city of Orleans and Athens, Georgia, then a wilderness of 
nearly six hundred miles in extent. Having performed the 
arduous duties of this situation to the perfect satisfaction of 
his government, for nearly five years. Captain Gaines deter- 
mined to retire from the army, and engage in the profession 
of the law. But the increased probability of a war with 
England, for a time suspended this resolution. He at length 
decided upon asking for leave of absence. 

In this interval he commenced the practice of law, in the 



104 GENERAL E. P. GAINES. 

counties of Washington and Baldwin, Mississippi territory ; 
but scarcely had he completed his first year's practice, when 
war Avas declared against Great Britain, and Captain Gaines 
joyfully resumed his sword, never again to abandon it as long 
as his country should need his services. 

In the war which followed, it will be seen that our hero 
was among the most steadfast in the performance of every 
arduous duty. 

In the orreatest dano^er he was distinsfuished alike bv the 
fertility of his resources, the coolness of his courage, and the 
amiable simplicity of his manners. In his operations on the 
northern frontier, his gallant conduct received the highest 
commendation. At the battle of Chrystler's Fields, on the 
11th of November, 1813, Colonel Gaines commanded the 
twenty-fifth regiment of United States infantry. He was 
deprived of the honor of a participation in the glory of Har- 
rison's victory on the Thames, by a long and serious illness ; 
but his brave regiment was one of the most effective, on the 
memorable 11th, covering the retreat of our several corps, 
after the check received by the enemy, to their re-embarkation 
on the St. Lawrence. 

The relative strength of the two armies, when Colonel 
Gaines, who had recently been promoted to the rank of Major- 
General, arrived at Fort Erie, and took command on tlie 
morning of the 4th of August, 1814, was as follows : — the 
British veteran force amounted to a fraction over three thou- 
sand six hundred officers and men, besides six hundred Cana- 
dians and Indians — making altogether an aggregate of more 
than four thousand two hundred. This force was opposed by 
only nineteen hundred United States regulars, and six hundred 
New^ York and Pennsvlvania volunteers, makino- the aoore. 
gate strength for duty, nearly two thousand five hundred. On 
the following day, August 5th, commenced the first of those 



GENERAL E. P. GAINES. 105 

actions, consisting of a vigorous cannonade and bombardment, 
with alternate sharp conflicts between the infantry and rifle 
corps of the two armies, with occasional skirmishing, which 
were kept up with a degree of vigor, daily and successively, 
until the morning of the 15th. These daily conflicts were so 
conducted as to pave the way for the more important victory 
which was to follow. 

Although the losses in these smaller actions amounted to 
considerably more than those sustained in the battle of the 
15th, still they were carried on in a spirit and temper, evincing 
a determination on the part of every officer and soldier to 
maintain the old-fashioned maxim, namely, "Victory or 
Death." This sanguinary battle of the 15th, with the other 
actions of the following fourteen days, were altogether so 
conducted as to secure to a moral certainty, not only the safety 
of the whole northwestern frontier, but to cover the war-worn 
division with imperishable fame, by a series of triumphs ex- 
tending throughout the months of August and September, 
1814, the value and moral effect of which, can only be rightly 
estimated by the statesman or soldier capable of counting the 
cost of blood and treasure, which must have followed the 
sacrifice of that division — and the consequent recombination 
of a British army flushed with victory — and their lately whipt, 
and, therefore, doubly ferocious savage friends and allies — 
with free access to a sparsely settled and unprotected frontier 
of near twelve hundred miles in extent, from Bufl"alo to Lake 
Michigan, and thence to the upper Mississippi, Missouri and 
Arkansas : a frontier embracing an extensive section of the 
then suffering northwestern settlements, that had during the 
first fourteen months of the war been bleeding at every pore. 
And this deplorable catastrophe to have followed upon the 
heels of the fiendish and disgraceful scenes which terminated 
in the taking, sacking, and burning the capitol of oar beloved 
14 



106 GENERAL E. P. GAINES. 

Union. The total defeat of this crippled and maimed rem- 
nant of Brown's heroic division, a catastrophe which, from the 
night of the 25th of July, to the fourth of the follorving month 
— to many hrave officers of high rank — {one of rvhom rvas at 
the head of a brigade, ) seemed to he inevitable, rvithout an im- 
mediate abandonment of Canada, might have prolonged the 
rvar, with its increasing horrors of the massacre and scalping of 
women and children, for seven years. This mutilated remnant 
of our noble division, however, gallantly met and gloriously 
triumphed over a veteran British army of near double our 
numbers during twenty consecutive days, and some nights, 
and accomplished these triumphs before the harassed and 
broken down war department could send on the requisite 
reinforcements, to give our operations the offensive in place of 
the defensive cast, and increased vigorous character. 

The great and gallant state of New York, with her Tom- 
kins, and her Clintons, and her Porter, and her Spencer, and 
hosts of other master spirits of this state, Pennsylvania, and 
Ohio, soon devised measures to put in rapid motion the chiv- 
alry — constituting the minute-men of the volunteers around 
them — and these sanguinary conflicts, which commenced on 
the 5th, and continued until the 28th of August, under the 
direction of the gallant Gaines, from thence until the 5th 
of September, under Miller, and to the 10th, under Ripley, 
were brilliantly terminated on the 17th of that month, under 
Brown. 

It may safely be left to the future statesman and soldier to 
decide — and to the impartial historian to record — how far 
these triumphs of August, 1814, may have contributed to 
allay the panic produced by the victory of the British at 
Bladensburg, the capture of Alexandria and the city of Wash- 
ington, with the destruction of the capitol ; or to what extent 
they may have tended to arrest the exultation which this mc- 



GENERAL E. T. GAINES. 107 

tory, and these captures produced in the ranks of the enemy ; 
and to establish throughout the Union the moral power, and 
unshaken confidence reposed in the efficiency of our volunteers. 
They had never, before the month of August, 1814, given such 
indubitable evidence of their being in all respects equal to the 
best of veteran regulars, in an open field fight, and in the close 
conflict of repeated heavy charges of veteran infantry with the 
* bayonet — in the deepest darkness of night. It is for posterity 
to decide (when the actors are all in the grave), how far the 
moral effect of those sanguinary struggles, and long-continued 
triumphs, may or may not have contributed to seal the fate of 
the enemy, from the 29th of August to the 17th of Sep- 
tember, on the Niagara frontier, at Baltimore, at Plattsburg, 
and at New Orleans, in December, 1814, and January, 1815. 
The description of troops here referred to as so eminently dis- 
tinguished at each place, had long been known to be invinci- 
ble in the woods against Indians and their white allies, and 
behind breast-vjorks, against the best of British veterans. But 
they had never, before the month of August, 1814, afforded 
such incontestable proofs of their entire fitness for the close 
conflicts of the open field, as at that time near Fort Erie. 

These triumphs were duly appreciated by the wdse, the 
just, the virtuous Madison, as well as by the supreme judi- 
ciary of the United States ; by the assembled wisdom of both 
houses of Congress, and by the enlightened and patriotic 
public authorities of the sovereign states of the Union — who 
promptly, and in most cases unanimously^ testified in terms of 
high approbation, their sense of the value of the services 
rendered by that division of the army during the period here 
referred to. 

General Gaines, in his official report to the war department, 
gives the following account of the battle of the 15th of Au- 
gust : He says, " I hasten to communicate particulars of the 



108 GENERAL E. P. GAINES. 

battle fought at this place (Fort Erie, Upper Canada), on the 
15th inst., between the left wing of the second division of the 
northern army, under my command, and the British forces in 
the Peninsula of Upper Canada. 

"At half past two o'clock, on the morning of the 15th, the 
right column of the enemy approached ; and though enveloped 
in darkness, was distinctly heard on our left, and promptly 
marked by our musketry, under Major Wood, and artillery* 
under Captain Towson. Being mounted at the moment, I 
repaired to the point of attack, where the sheet of fire rolling 
from Towson's battery and the musketry of the left wing of 
the 21st infantry, under Major Wood, enabled me to see the 
enemy's column, of about fifteen hundred men, approaching 
on that point ; his advance was not checked until it approached 
within ten feet of our infantry ; a line of loose brush, repre- 
senting an abattis, only intervened; a column of the enemy 
attempted to pass round the abattis, through the w^ater where 
it was nearly breast-deep. Apprehending that this point would 
be carried, I ordered a detachment of riflemen and infantry to 
its support; but having met with the gallant commander. 
Major Wood, was assured by him that he could defend his 
position without reinforcements. At this moment the enemy 
were repulsed ; but instantly renewed the charge, and were 
again repulsed. 

"My attention was now^ called to the right, where our bat- 
teries and lines were soon lighted by a most brilliant fire of 
cannon and musketry. It announced the approach of the 
centre and left columns of the enemy, under Colonels Drum- 
mond and Scott. The latter was received by the veteran ninth, 
under the command of Captain Foster and Captains Brough- 
ton and Harding's companies of New York and Pennsylvania 
volunteers, and were repulsed. That of the centre, led by 
Colonel Drummond, was not long kept in check ; it approach- 



GENERAL E. P. GAINES. 109 

ed, at once, every available point of the fort, and, with scaling 
ladders, ascended the parapet, but was repulsed with dreadful 
carnage. The assault was twice repeated, and as often 
checked ; but the enemy, having moved around in the ditch, 
covered by darkness, added to the heavy cloud of smoke 
w^hich had rolled from our cannon and musketry, enveloping 
surrounding objects, repeated the charge, re-ascended the lad- 
ders — their pikes, bayonets and spears, fell upon our gallant 
artillerists. The gallant spirits of our favorite Captain Wil- 
liams, and Lieutenants M'Donough and Watmough, with 
their brave men, w^ere overcome — the two former, and several 
of their men, received deadly wounds — our bastion was lost. 
Lieutenant M'Donough, being severely wounded, demanded 
quarter. It was refused by Colonel Drummond ; — the Lieuten- 
ant then seized a handspike and nobly defended himself, until 
he was shot down with a pistol, by the monster who had 
refused him quarter, who often was heard to reiterate the 
order, ' Give the damned Yankees no quarter.'' This officer, 
whose bravery, had it been seasoned with virtue, would have 
entitled him to the admiration of every soldier; this har- 
dened murderer soon met his fate : he was shot through the 

heart by , of the regiment, w^hile repeating the 

order to 'give no quarter.' The battle now raged with in- 
creased fury on the right ; but on the left, the enemy was 
repulsed and put to flight; thence, and from the centre, I 
ordered reinforcements — they were promptly sent by Briga- 
dier-Generals Ripley and Porter. Captain Fanning, of the 
corps of artillery, kept a spirited and destructive fire, with 
his field-pieces, on the enemy attempting to approach the fort. 
At this moment, every operation was arrested by the explosion 
of some cartridges, deposited in the end of the stone building, 
adjoining the contested bastion — the explosion was tremendous 
— it was decisive — the bastion was restored. At this moment, 



110 GENERAL E. P. GAINES. 

Captain Biddle, with his field-piece, enfiladed the exterior 
plain and salient glacis : although not recovered from a severe 
injury in the shoulder by one of the enemy's shells, promptly 
served his field-piece with vivacity and effect. Captain Tan- 
ning's battery, likewise, played upon them at this time with 
great effect — the enemy were, in a few moments, entirely 
defeated, taken, or put to flight, leaving on the field two hun- 
dred and twenty-one killed, one hundred and seventy-four 
wounded, and one hundred and eighty-six prisoners — total 
five hundred and eighty-one, including fourteen officers killed, 
and seven wounded and prisoners. Americans, seventeen 
killed, fifty-six wounded, eleven missing, total eighty -four. 
"I have the honor, &c." 

It must be remembered that General Gaines had collected 
and arranged the requisite papers and memorandums, such as 
would have enabled him to make a faithful report of every 
material incident of each day's operations, from the 5th to the 
28th of August. But on this last-mentioned day he was 
crippled ; and the British bomb-shell that wounded him, de- 
molished his writing-desk, with so many of his valuable papers, 
including most of the reports and memorandums just now- 
referred to, that his detailed report fell very short of what was 
intended, with the exception of giving to his officers that 
praise which their courage and bravery deserved; this re- 
port, as before intimated, was very hastily and imperfectly 
thrown together amidst the cares and constant interruptions 
of incessant daily action and nightly vigilance and preparation 
for increased vigorous action^ unavoidably omitting some inci- 
dents of great interest to the service, to corps, and to indi- 
vidual officers and soldiers, gallantly engaged in this as w^ell 
as in some of the smaller conflicts. 



GENERAL E. P. GAINES. Ill 

The official reports of the then acting Adjutant-General 
Jones, (now adjutant-general of the army,) and Major Hall, 
then acting Inspector-General, show, that in the smaller 
actions, before referred to, from the 5th to the 14th, the actual 
loss of United States regulars and volunteers, was altogether 
much greater than in the battle of the 15th, which, though 
resulting in a decided victory, in which the enemy acknow- 
ledged his loss to be greater than he sustained in any one 
battle during the year 1814 in America, yet this was, in truth, 
but one of twenty-three days^ sharp conflicts — all crowned with 
success ; although Gaines' encampment near Fort Erie, from 
the daily flow of blood which it exhibited, was compared by 
the officers to a slaughter-pen. And from the 15th to the 28th 
of August, was still greater ; amounting in all to nearly four 
hundred — officers and soldiers killed and wounded. The 
enemy took from us but one prisoner, it is believed, during 
the month ; the brave Lieutenant Fontaine, who was knocked 
down from his battery in the dark. 

For his gallant conduct in this ever memorable battle, 
General Gaines was honored by the federal government with 
an unanimous vote of thanks, and a gold medal [See Plate V), 
whilst the three great and patriotic states of New York, Vir- 
ginia and Tennessee, awarded to him unanimous resolutions 
of thanks, with a fine gold hilted sword, which he received 
from each of these states. This gallant officer is now em- 
ployed in the honorable and important service of his country. 
We are sensible that in so brief a space allowed us in this 
memoir, justice cannot be done to such bravery, magnanimity 
and patriotism as have marked his character, through a life 
which has ever displayed a highly intelligent and unremitted 
zeal for the welfare of his country. 



112 GENERAL E. P. GAINES. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Battle of Erie. 

Device. — Bust of General Gaines. 

Legend. — Major-General Edmund P. Gaines. 

Reverse. — Victory standing on a shield, under which are 
a stand of colors and a halbert, and holding a palm-branch in 
her left hand, as in the act of placing a laurel crown on the cas- 
cabel of a cannon marked R, which is fixed upright in the 
ground, and is surrounded with a scroll inscribed " Erie." On 
one trunnion rests a stand of British colors, and from the 
other is suspended a broad sword. By the side of the cannon 
are a howitzer, helmet, and several balls. Behind the cannon 
is a halbert. 

Legend. — Resolution of Congress, Nov. 3d, 1814. 

Exergue. — Battle of Erie, Aug. 15th, 1814. 



GEN. JAMES MILLER. 



James Miller, late Brigadier-General in the United States 
army, was born in the town of Peterborough, Hillsborough 
county. New Hampshire, April 25th, 1776. His grandfather, 
Samuel Miller, came from the North of Ireland, about the 
year 1720, and settled in Londonderry, New Hampshire, 
accompanied by his wife, (whose maiden name was Mary 
Shearer, ) and their eldest child . They had seven children ; five 
sons, Matthew, James, William, Samuel and John ; and two 
daughters, Mary and Jane ; all of whom, except Matthew, the 
eldest, were born in America. The four younger sons sub- 
sequently removed from Londonderry to Peterborough and 
settled on a tract of wild land, which, as tradition states, had 
been purchased for them, and paid for in linen cloth and 
thread manufactured by their mother, a woman of great energy 
and industry. The purchase comprised an extent of four 
hundred acres, and includes some of the best land in Peter- 
borough. The eldest son, Matthew, remained in Londonderry 
with his parents. 

Of the four who went to Peterborough, James, the father 
of General Miller, was the twin brother of William, and for 
15 



114 GENERAL JAMES MILLER. 

many years they improved their land in common and divided 
the produce. He married Catherine Gragg, the first child 
baptized in Peterborough. She was the daughter of Hugh 
Graffor, -vvho also came to America from the north of Ireland, 
and settled in Groton, Massachusetts, but subsequently re- 
moved to Peterborough, when his daughter Catherine w^as a 
child of about eight or nine years of age. James Miller and 
his wife, Catherine Gragg, had four sons, Hugh, Samuel, 
James and Jacob; and three daughters, Jane, Mary and 
Catherine : of these, James, the subject of this memoir, was 
the third son. His earlier years were spent at home with his 
parents. Although he was of a robust constitution, and had 
a muscular and powerful frame, he w^as never a very valuable 
assistant in the agricultural labors of the farm, if we may be 
allowed to judge from the appellation by which he is said to 
have been familiarly designated in the family, and perhaps in 
the neighborhood, that of " lazy Jem.'' The facilities for 
education in that part of the country were at that period very 
limited, but they were then, as now, free to all so far as the 
town or district schools w^ere concerned. He attended one of 
these, such portions of the year as it was kept open ; and it 
so happened that his earliest military as w^ell as literary in- 
struction was received there. One of the persons employed 
for a time as teacher of the school, had been a sergeant in the 
army of the Revolution, and had still so much of his former 
military taste remaining, as to render it quite as much a mat- 
ter of pride and gratification to him to drill the boys (provided 
with wooden guns for the purpose) in the manual and com- 
pany movements, at intervals between school hours and on 
holidays, as it was to preside over their literary progress in 
doors. He was, wathal, a strict disciplinarian, and the event 
now to be related would not, in all probability, have happened 
durino; his administration. In the time of one of his succes- 



GENERAL JAMES MILLER. 115 

sors in the school, the boys, incited perhaps by traditionary 
accounts of similar schoolboy doings in the old country, de- 
termined to gain a holiday, which had been refused them, by 
" barring out" the master and holding adverse possession of 
the school-house until their demand was complied with. 

The plan was carried into effect by those who, from residing 
at a distance from the school-house usually remained at noon- 
time, (while the master and another portion of the scholars 
were temporarily absent,) aided by such as they had persuaded 
to stay with them and take part in the conspiracy. The door 
was accordingly shut and barricaded by those in the plot, but 
a window, which (in the scarcity of glass and window-frame, 
incident to a new settlement) was fitted only with a wooden shut- 
ter, could not be closed against the '' executive" and "conserva- 
tives," without at the same time excluding daylight; a depriva- 
tion to whicli the young conspirators felt a distaste very similar 
to that attributed by Homer to the Grecian Ajax. It was, be- 
sides, highly desirable that an avenue for negotiations between 
the parties should be kept open, through which, at the proper 
time, the terms of an accommodation might be settled. The 
defence of this important and assailable point was committed to 
young Miller, although one of the youngest of this juvenile 
band : and when at the exhortation of the master, (who, after all, 
was possibly at heart as little averse to a holiday as any of his 
pupils,) an assault on the fortress was made by the advocates 
of "law and order," so resolutely did he maintain his post, 
that the storming jjarty, headed by an older cousin of the 
young defender, were effectually kept at bay. A parley was 
now held, and the demand for a holiday having been acceded 
to on the part of the teacher, coupled with a stipulation for 
the entire immunity from punishment of all concerned, the 
door was once more opened and the affair terminated in a 



IK) GENERAL JAMES IMILLER. 

mniiiuM' :iL»"iveal)I(\ (Knibtlrss, lo all coiu'crnetl, since all shared 
alike in the iiuhilL!,"(MU'(M)btaine(l. 

He edntiiHUMi {o altiMul llie town schools dnrino'a jiortion of 
each season, until the autninn of his eiglitecntli year, when, 
desirous of greater facilities for education than his native town 
allbrded, he left home for the piu'pose of attending- the academy 
at that time establisluul in Andierst, New IlampsMre, some 
twtMit v-livt^ miles dist-ant from Peterborough. His out /if on 
the occasion was luMther very splendid nor extensive; con- 
sisting of a bundle oi' clothes, not at all burdensome to carry, 
and the sum of one dollar and twenty-five cents in money. 

The " credit system" was, in those days almost a matter of 
necessity, and although he had no personal acquaintance in 
Amherst, except with one or two of the students at the 
academv. he found no dillicnltv in makinji- an arranofement for 
his board in the fannlvofone ol'the towns[)eople, and his tuition 
at the institutiiMi. He remained at the academv for several 
months, and tluMi left lor the purpose of recruiting his linances 
and paying olf arrearages by teaching; and having done so, 
was enabled himself to go to school again, and then open a 
new accomit with his boarding house anil learning. He went 
on in this manner, alternately pupil and teacher, receiving 
knowUnlge by instalments, and disbursing it very fairly as it 
accunudatinl. until after vears(when. having spent a short por- 
tion o[' the time as a student at Williams College.) he was 
(pialilii^l to ciMumence the stndv of hnv. Mhii'li he pursued in 
the oiWcc o\' \hc lati> .lames AN'ilson, Esquire, then oi' Peter- 
borough, and latterly of Ivihmic. New Hampshire, a gentleman 
at that lime o( extensive and successful practice in the law. 
HavinLi" completcil the requisite term as a law student, he Mas 
admittinl to practice in the statt> court, at the spring term lor 
Hillsborough County, IM);^ 

He removed to the town o( Greenlield, adjoining Peter- 



GENERAL JAMES MILLER. 117 

borough, and continued ilic ])ractice of the law there unii], 
in the year, 1808, he received from President Jefferson an ap- 
pointment as major, in the Fourth Rcfriment of United States 
Infantry, the highest appointment made from New Ilampsliire 
under the act of Congress for increasing the army. He was 
in a great measure indebted, for this appointment, to the favora- 
ble" opinion and influence of the late Governor Pierce of New 
Hampshire, himself a distinguished officer in the revolutionary 
army. James Miller had previously held a commission under 
the state government, as captain of artillery. His (commission 
as major of the Fourth Regiment of United States Infantry, 
bears date the 3d of March, 1809, taking rank from 8th of 
July, 1808. In June, he joined his regiment, then commanded 
by Col. John P. Boyd, at Fort Independence, in Boston harbor, 
in the spring of 1809, where he remained (with the exception 
of a short interval, spent on duty at Springfield, Massachu- 
setts, and on a march from there with a detachment of troops 
to Newport, Rhode Island,) until the spring of 1811, when he 
embarked with the fourth regiment, for Philadelphia — having 
shortly before been commissioned as lieutenant-colonel of the 
fiftieth regiment. The troops arrived at Philadelphia, on the 
16th of May, and on the following day proceeded on their 
march to Pittsburgh, where they arrived on the 21st of June. 
In consequence of hostile indications on the part of the 
Northwestern Indians, prompted by the master spirit Te- 
cumseh, government had determined on a military expedition 
into the Indian country, and Colonel Miller was, with his 
regiment, ordered to prepare with all possible dispatch to pro- 
ceed to Vincennes and join the forces under General Har- 
rison. The first steamboat ever launched on the western 
waters was then on the stocks at Pittsburgh, and of course 
afforded matter for much observation and comment. On the 
2d of August, the troops embarked in keel boots for Vincennes. 



118 GENERAL JAMES MILLER. 

Tlicy ivaclicd Newport, Kentucky, the distance of five linu- 
drod and Iwcnty miles, in seven days, and there landed and 
remained until the :]01h of the same month, when they again 
embarked and descended the river to Jefferson vi lie, Indiana, 
in order to meet General Harrison. 

At the request of General Harrison, Colonel Boyd, then in 
command of the rejriment, left the expedition and went wdth 
General Harrison across the country to Vincennes, leaving- 
Colonel Miller in command of the troops, with orders to pro- 
ceed by water. 

They descended about three hundred miles to the farther 
Wabash, and then made their way uj) that river one Iiundred 
and seventy miles more to Vincennes. 

The ascending the Wabash was at that time exceedingl}" 
toilsome and harassing; the river was very low, and they had 
eleven large boats from filly to seventy-five feet long to pass 
over the bars and shallows of the river, which were of very 
frequent occurrence. It sometimes required the united efforts 
of an hundred men to lift or drag a single boat over a rocky 
shallow. On the 17th of September, the day of the great 
solar eclipse, they wore engaged in passing the grand rapids 
of the Wabash. 

To encourage and animate the men. Colonel Miller himself 
frequently went into the water to assist at the boats, as did 
every other olliccr. and for several successive days, had not 
the opportunity of a change of dry clothes. It was to this 
exposure and fatigue that Colonel Miller was probably in- 
debted for the severe illness with \vhich he was subsequently 
attacked. 

The boats, with tlie troops, reached Vincennes on the 10th 
and there joined the militia under General Harrison. The 
combined force immediately commenced drilling for Indian 
warfare, and on the '•27th of September, marched for the Pro- 



GENERAL JAMES MILLER. Hi) 

phet's town, in the vicinity of the Tippecanoe ground. On 
the 2d of October, the army reached the spot, seventy miles 
from Vincennes, where they halted to build Fort Harrison, 
which was subsequently so bravely and successfully defended 
against the Indians by Lieutenant, now Major-General Zachary 
Taylor. The next day after his arrival at this place, Colonel 
Miller was seized with a violent bilious fever, which at once 
completely prostrated him, from the effects of which, and the 
treatment and exposure which he necessarily had to undergo, 
he has never entirely recovered. 

Until the fort was built, he was sheltered in a tent, with a 
bearskin and blankets for bedding. The weather for the first 
few days was very warm, and then suddenly changed to cold, 
with snow and rain ; to hasten salivation, the physicians ap- 
plied mercury very freely externally, as well as administering 
it internally, with blisters on the neck and limbs. 

He had never been confined by sickness for a single day in 
his life before. He received the kindest attention from General 
Harrison, Colonel Boyd, and other officers, particularly from 
Colonel Davis, of the Kentucky dragoons, who was afterwards 
killed at Tippecanoe. , 

When the army moved from Fort Harrison, on the 29th of 
October, Colonel Miller had so far recovered as to be able to 
walk a few steps with the assistance of a cane, but was utterly 
unable to accompany the troops. For fifteen days he had 
been unable to move from his hard bed without being lifted, 
a tent his only shelter ; and the weather suddenly changed 
from warm to cold, sufficiently to allow the snow to remain on 
the ground for two days at a time. His regret at being com- 
pelled to remain behind, is tiius expressed in a letter written 
some time after : — "I reflected that I had sailed, marched, and 
rowed in boats, more than two thousand miles in search of, and 
with the expectation of acquiring, in common with my brothers 



120 GENERAL JAMES MILLER. 

ill arms, some military fame : to be brought to the •• right about' 
and obhged to halt within a few miles of the scene of action 
and consequent honor acquired by the glorious victory ob- 
tained — I thought my lot a hard one." From the 4tli day of 
]\Iay to the ISth of November, he had slept in a house but 
two nights. Colonel Miller was left in command of Fort 
Harrison, with the invalids of the army, and although thus 
debarred from participating in the battle which ensued, and 
resulted in the a ictory of Tippecanoe, he was fortunately able 
to be of essential service after the battle. For when apprised 
of the result, by express from General Harrison, he dispatched 
boats up the river, with hay in them for the reception of the 
wounded, and fresh provisions for the troops, to a point where 
the army would be likely to strike the river, on their return 
to Fort Harrison. 

When the army left Fort Harrison, on its return to Vin- 
cennes, in the following November, although still an invalid. 
Colonel Miller requested to accompany them, and he was sent 
in command of the troops and boats, by way of the river : al- 
though it was considered the most easy way of traveling, he 
suffered much iVom exposure on tlie journey. He spent the 
following winter at A'incennes. and during that time became 
an inmate in the house and family of General Harrison, who 
Avith the most affectionate kindness urged this hospitality upon 
him. In May, 181*2, he received orders to proceed with the 
fourth regiment to Davton. Ohio, and from thence marched to 
Detroit, having joined General Hull at Urbana. 

The communication with the state of Ohio being completely 
blo«?ived up. thereby jireventing the transportation of supplies 
of proA'isions for General Hull's army, he saw it necessary to 
turn his attention to that point, and accordingly detached from 
the army a part of the i*egular troops, numbering about six 
hundred men. under tlie command of I/ieutenant-Colonel 



GKNERAL JAMES IMILLEU. 121 

James Miller, of the fourth regiment United States infantry, 
for this object. Colonel Miller was permitted to take two field 
pieces with the detachment, one six pounder and one five and 
a half inch howitzer, with their appendages and ammunition. 

The detachment having drawn two days' provisions, being 
organized and everything prepared for the march. General 
Wayne was chosen to lead the spies to reconnoitre the country ; 
these were volunteer citizens of Detroit well acquainted with 
the route. 

At five o'clock P. M., on the 8th of August, 1812, the 
troops being ready to march, and drawn up in line in the 
main street of Detroit, Colonel Miller rode to the centre and 
in front of the line, and addressed the troops in the following 
words : — " Soldiers, we are going to meet the enemy and to 
beat them ! The blood of your brethren, spilt by savage 
hands on the 5th, must be avenged by their chastisement, and 
by the chastisement of the enemy who employs them, more 
savage than they ! I shall lead you — I trust that no man will 
disgrace himself or me — every man who is seen to leave the 
ranks, to give way, or fall back without orders, shall instantly 
be put to death. My brave soldiers ! you have once faced the 
enemy in a hard conflict, and beaten them, and gained glory 
to yourselves and honor to your country ! Let this oppor- 
tunity be improved to add another victory to that of Tippe- 
cmioe, and new glory to that which you gained on the Wahash. 
Soldiers, if there are any now in the ranks of this detachment, 
who are afraid to meet the enemy, they are now permitted to 
fall out and stay behind." At which the words, " I'll not 
stay," ran through the ranks with a "huzza." 

The detachment then moved off in order and high spirits, 
and exhibited so much ardor to engage in the conflict, that the 
anxious citizens felt perfect confidence in the success of the en- 
terprise. The detachment arrived at the river Rouge, six miles 
16 



122 GENEllAL JAMES I\Ill,f,i;K. 

iVoni J^etroit, about sunset. Tliere bciuo- uo bridge and tlie 
water very deep, they M-ere conveyed over in scows, and as two 
only were within reach, it was ten o'clock before the whole had 
crossed over. The weather l)eing somewhat rainy and very 
dark, it was determined to encamp there for the night. They 
therefore stationed their guards and picquets, and permitted 
the men to rest on their arms till daylight. Accordingly, at 
daybreak, they commenced their march, with Colonel Miller 
at the head of a colunui of cavalry, accompanied by his aids, 
in the road and iu a line with the heads of the columns of 
musketrv. In this order tlie detachment marched from the 
encampment, near the river Uouge, on the morning of the 9th. 
They proceeded through the white settlement, which was 
about live miles, and entered the woods. 

The country, from the river Rouge to Brownstown, is gene- 
rally flat, and lies a little above the surface of the river Detroit. 
Indian huts and iields are interspersed through the woods; at 
that time the fields were covered with corn, which was grown 
to seven and eight feet high. 

When the advanced guard had arrived at the farther edge 
of this wood, the spies advanced into the Indian opening; 
they were fired upon by a party of ten Indians, who were on 
horseback, and had concealed themselves behind the house of 
the celebrated chief, Walk-in-thc-watcr. 

The spies fell back. A citizen from Detroit, who accom- 
panied them, was killed, and fell from his horse. The guard 
advanced quickly towards the house, and the Indians imme- 
diatel}^ fled without receiving much injury, though the guard 
fired upon them while they were uncovered by the house. 
The Indians bore away as a trophy, the citizen's scalp whom 
tliey had shot ; and the facility with which the scalp was taken, 
was astonishing. There scarcely appeared to have been time 
for the Indian to reach the spot where the man fell, before 



GENERAL JAMES MTLT,EK. 123 

the guard arrived and found the scalp taken off, and the In- 
dian gone. When the firing was lieard by the columns, tlie 
order was given by Colonel Miller to march on with haste, 
but only some scattered Indians were discovered, who had 
been sent out by the British to watch the movements of tlie 
Americans, and to give information of their approach towards 
Brownstown, where the enemy, as it appeared afterwards, then 
lay in ambush to receive them. Tlie ])osition which the enemy 
had chosen, lay in an open oak wood, just at the declivity of 
a rising ground, over which the Americans had to pass. He 
had thrown up a breastwork of trees, logs, &c., behind which 
he lay concealed in force, and in order of Imttle. His works 
were thrown up in form of a couriine with two flanks. The 
line of the courtine lay across the road and perpendicularly 
to it. The banks formed an angle with the couriine of about 
one hundred and twenty. The courtine was lined with British 
regular troops, two deep of the forty-first regiment of foot, 
under the command of Major Muer of that regiment, who had 
long been in command at Maiden. The flaidt of the courtific, 
on the enemy's right, and American left, w^as lined witli 
Canadian militia and Indians, commanded by Walk-in-the- 
water and MarpoL. Most of the militia were dressed and 
painted like their ''brethren in arms," the savages. The left 
flank of the courtine was lined entirely by savages, under the 
command of the celebrated Indian warrior Tecumseh, of the 
Shawnoese nation. 

The number of the Brilisli regulars and militia amounted 
to about three hundred ; about two hundred regulars. The 
Indians amounted to four hundred and fifty, making the 
enemy's forces about seven hundred and fifty men. Tlie posi- 
tion and strength of the enemy were entircsly unknown to 
Colonel Miller and to the army at this time. 

At twelve o'clock M. the detachment arrived at a large open- 



124 GENEKAT. .ta:\ies :\iiller. 

ing -vvliic-h contained four or five Indian houses, gardens, and 
orchards, antl the ann\- halted to take some refreshment, and 
to bury tiie man who had been killed ; there they lay one hour. 
The A'illage was deserted, and nothing of any consequence 
left in the houses. 

At one P. JNI., the troops resumed their march, and soon 
reached the woods, near Brow^nstown, where some guns were 
heard by them. In a few seconds a volley was heard from 
Captain Snelling's advance guard, and another instantly re- 
turned from a great number of pieces. The troops, bj' this 
time, were in preparation for battle, when Colonel Miller rode 
towards the centre at full speed, halted, and with a firm voice 
ordered the columns to "form the line of battle," which was 
executed with that order, promptness and zeal, which he had 
expected ; after the first volleys, the firing became incessant in 
front. Captain Snelling stood his ground till the lines were 
formed, and moved to his relief He stood within pistol shot 
of the enemy's breastworks in a shower of balls from the 
regular troops in his front, who showed themselves after the 
first fire, and set up the Indian yell. 

When the first line appeared before the breastwork, they 
received the fire of the whole front and a part of the flanks. 
At this instant. Colonel Miller discovered that the enemy out- 
flanked him, when the second line and llank guards were 
In'ought upon the flanks of the front line of the enemy. 

The savages, in unison with the British troops, set up a 
horrid yell, and a severe conflict ensued. 

The incessant firing of individual pieces soon changed to 
volleys, and while silence prevailed for an instant, the discharge 
of the six ponnder burst upon the ear. At this instant, Colonel 
Miller was thrown from his horse which took fright at the 
discharge. He was supposed to be shot; those near him flew 
to his aid ; the savas^es who saw him fill sprang over the breast- 



GENERAL JAIMES MILLEE. 125 

work to take his scalp, but were repulsed. Colonel Miller in- 
stantly remounted and returned to continue his orders. The 
fire from the Indians, who were screened by their breastworks, 
was deadly. 

Another discharge of grape from the six pounder, caused 
the British line to yield, then to break, and the troops to fly in 
disorder ! Tecumseh, and some Indians under his command, 
who had leaped over the breastwork in the full assurance of 
victory, were driven back at the point of the bayonet. The 
British and some Indians fled directly down the river, and 
were pursued by Colonel Miller, and that part of the troops 
which had opposed them. Tecumseh, with his Indians, fled 
directly from the river westwardly, into the wilderness, and 
were pursued. After the British had retreated about one mile, 
they came to an opening, of about half a mile in diameter; here 
they attempted to rally again, but on the approach of the 
Americans they again broke and fled into the woods down 
the river. Colonel Miller immediately ordered the troops to 
follow in further pursuit of the British. 

After following them through the woods for nearly half a 
mile, they came upon the beach of Lake Erie, and discovered 
the enemy all i]i boats, steering towards Maiden, and out 'of 
reach of their shot. They had concealed their boats at this 
point, when they came over, for this purpose, if they should 
be defeated. The troops returned to the battle field, where 
they met the division which had returned from the pursuit of 
Tecumseh. 

When the troops were formed in line, Colonel Miller rode 
in front and addressed them in the following words : — " My 
brave fellows ! you have done well ! every man has done his 
duty. I give you my hearty thanks for your conduct on this 
day ; you have gained my highest esteem ; you have gained 
fresh honor to yourselves, and to the American arms ; your 



126 GENERAL JAMES MILLEH. 

fellow soldiers in arms will love yon, and yonr conntry will 
reward yon. You will retnrn to the field of battle, to collect 
those who have gloriously fallen ; your friendly attentions to 
your Mounded companions are required." Detachments were 
sent out with wagons to search the woods, and collect all the 
wounded and dead, and bring them to the ground then occupied 
by the troops. All the Indian houses, only three or four in 
number, were prepared to receive tliem, and the surgeons were 
industriously employed A^itli them, during the whole night. 

The troops encamped on the bank of the river, fronting the 
woods, the river forming their back. The time from the 
attack on the vanguard to the time of forming the line on the 
Indian fields, after the pursuit was finally ended, was two and 
a half hours. During this sharp conflict the conduct of each 
individual ofiicer and soldier was so uniformly and strictly 
military, that the commander was scarcely able to make dis- 
tinctions in his Inief and modest report to General Hull. 
The physical powers of almost every man were called into 
action, and severely tried. 

The troops then returned to Detroit, where tliey were ap- 
prised of the declaration of war between England and the 
United States. 

Colonel Miller, on hearing the above news, determined to 
make an attempt to land on the Canada shore, with the 
fourth regiment, which he still continued to command, ac- 
companied by Colonel, now General Cass, with a regiment of 
militia, together with a company of artillery, under Captain 
Dyson : the whole, under the command of Colonel Miller, em- 
barked at a point about a mile above Detroit, crossed the river 
and landed on the Canada side without opposition. Colonels 
Miller and Cass had, on this occasion, the honor of planting 
with their own liands. on the bank of the Detroit river, the 
first American fiao^ carried into Canada in the last war. After 



GENERAL JAMES MILLER. 127 

remaining but a short time in Canada, they re-embarked to 
the American side. Colonel Miller, it appears by official re- 
ports, took an active part in nearly all the principal battles of 
the western frontier. In a dispatch from General Harrison, 
at Lower Sandusky, he observes, "the detachment led by 
that brave officer. Colonel Miller, did not exceed three hundred 
and fifty men, and it is very certain that they defeated two 
hundred British regulars, one hundred and fifty militia men, 
and four or five hundred Indians." Again, in a letter from 
Major-General Brown to the secretary of war, after the battle 
of Bridgewater, he says, "to secure the victory, it was neces- 
sary to carry this artillery and seize the height ; this duty was 
assigned to Colonel Miller, who advanced steadily and gal- 
lantly to his object, and carried the height and the cannon." 
He also observes, "from the preceding detail, you have evi- 
dence of the distinguished gallantry of that brave officer." 
In the battles of Chippewa, Niagara and Erie, he is alike 
distinguished. After the battle of Chippewa, Colonel Miller 
was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General. Congress 
presented him with a gold medal {see Plate V.) with the 
unanimo^ thanks of that body. 

After the close of the war, General Miller retired to his 
estate at Peterborough, New Hampshire, where he resided for 
some time, enjoying the sweets of quietude and the pleasures 
of agricultural pursuits ; subsequently he received the ap- 
pointment of collector of the port at Salem, Massachusetts, 
where he is now living in the bosom of his family. Although 
nearly deprived of the powers of articulation by paralysis, he 
enjoys his other faculties with comfort to himself and happi- 
ness to all around him. 

The kindness and affability of General Miller made him a 
favorite in the field, as well as in the domestic circle. Before 
his affliction, it w^as indeed difficult to be long in his society 



128 GENERAL JAMES MILLEK. 

without feeling happier as well as wiser. He was blessed m ith 
a great cheerfulness of disposition, which diffused its charms 
on all around him. He lives, commanding universal venera- 
tion and attachment from his illustrious services as a soldier, 
and his social virtues and generous hospitality as a man. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Battles of Chippewa, Niagara, and Erie. 

Device. — Bust of General Miller. 

Legend. — Bris^adier-General James Miller. 

Exergue. — I'll try. 

Reverse. — Two armies engaged on a hill; troops advancing 
at a distance. 

Legend. — Resolution of Congress, November 3d, 1814. 

Exergue. — Battles of Chippewa, July 5th, 1S14; Niagara, 
July 25th, 1S14; Erie, September 17th. 1S14. 



Plate. li 








u 



a ;« 



MAJOR-GEN. JACOB BROWN. 



Jacob Brown, the subject of the following memoir, was 
born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1775, of a 
highly respectable family of Quakers. His father inherited a 
valuable and flourishing estate, but anxious still to increase it, 
he imprudently embarked in some commercial transactions 
which proved unfortunate, and his wkole property was sacri- 
ficed. This happened when our hero was about sixteen years 
of age, and, it is said, made a great change in his character 
and conduct; he was determined to devote himself to some- 
thing that might be a support for himself, and enable him to 
retrieve tlie broken fortunes of his family. 

At the age of eighteen he took charge of a large and re- 
spectable school at Crosswicks, New Jersey ; at the same 
time endeavoring, by close study, to improve his own mind 
for future labors. At the age of twenty-two, he was employed 
in surveying and laying out lands, in that section of country 
now the state of Ohio. He also became agent for M. Le 
Roy de Chaumont, a distinguished Frenchman, who owned 
a large tract of that country, and was industrious in obtaining 
17 



130 MAJOR-GEXERAl. JACOB BROWN. 

settlers. In 179;^ he removed to the city of New York, 
where, by the urgent solicitations of his friends, he was in- 
duced again to take charge of a school ; this, after a time, 
became irksome, and he commenced the study of law% but 
soon abandoned it as uncongrenial with his active and adven- 
turous pursuits. Having acquired a small property by his 
exertions in Ohio, he made a purchase of some land on the 
borders of Lake Ontario and the river St. Lawrence, now 
Jefferson county, in the state of New York. Here he built 
the first human dweUing within thirty miles of the lake, and 
after effecting some necessary improvements, he removed his 
parents to his new abode ; and to the close of his life devoted 
himself to their happiness and comfort. 

Brown, through his early life, had much to contend with. 
Thrown upon his own resources for subsistence and education, 
and tlie poverty of his beloved parents on his mind, he w^as 
repeatedly discouraged ; but his energy never forsook him; his 
firmness and perseverance seemed to overcome every obstacle 
that surrounded him. In 1809, he was appointed a colonel of 
militia ; and in the year following, he was promoted to the 
rank of brigadier-general. At the commencement of the war 
in 1812, he was appointed to defend the frontier of Lake 
Ontario and the river St. Lawrence, from Oswego to Lake 
St. Francis, an extent of coast reaching two hundred miles. 
He fixed his head-quarters at Ogdensburg, where he was 
attacked by a British force much superior to his own in num- 
bers; but in this affair no one received the least injury, while 
the enemy lost several men in killed and wounded. In 1813, 
General Brown joined Colonel Backus, of the dragoons, 
stationed at Sacket's Harbor, a demonstration against the 
post having been made by a British force from Kingston, 
under the command of Sir George Prevost and Sir James 
Yeo. General Brown had hardly time to arrive and dispose 



MAJOR-GENERAL JACOB BROWN. 131 

his brigade, before the enemy commenced the attack, which 
for a time was fierce and successful ; but after a series of skill- 
ful and spirited movements, the British forces were completely 
vanquished, and retreated precipitately in their boats. The 
loss of the enemy was four hundred and fifty, while that of 
the Americans was one hundred and fifty-six. Among the 
slain was the gallant Backus, who fell while exciting his men 
by his own bravery. The same year General Brown was 
appointed a brigadier-general in the regular army of the 
United States, and soon after planned the expedition against 
Montreal, which, by a want of concert between the generals 
of the northern army, was entirely frustrated. 

Early in 1814, General Brown was placed in command of 
the northern division of the army at French Mills, with the 
rank of major-general. The reputation of the military was 
at this time rather low ; many enterprises had proved abortive, 
and a feeling of disappointment was fast spreading through 
the country, and unfavorable impressions against the military 
capacity of the generals, were gaining ground. General 
Brown was determined, with the aid of able coadjutors, to 
endeavor to retrieve the reputation of the army ; to these 
arduous exertions are to be ascribed the brilliant triumphs 
which were subsequently achieved. 

In the Spring of 1814, he crossed the Niagara river and 
carried Fort Erie, which surrendered without any resistance. 

On the 5th of July, 1814, was fought the battle of Chip- 
pewa, the first in that series of battles by which the American 
army so eminently distinguished itself The British com- 
mander made a rapid advance, supposing the American forces 
not prepared for the attack he was about to make. In this he 
found himself mistaken, for hardly had he formed his line, 
when the ofallant Scott made an attack. The conflict was severe 



132 MAJOR-GENERAL JACOB BROWN. 

on both sides, and for some time seemed about even, when, on 
the approach of a second brigade, under General Ripley, the 
British made a precipitate retreat under cover of their works 
on the Chippewa creek. News having reached General 
Brown that the British were intending to cross the Strait at 
Niagara, for the purpose of seizing the depot of the Ameri- 
can army, and cutting off supplies of ammunition and subsist- 
ence, he accordingly advanced General Scott, with his brigade, 
to divert the enemy from his purpose, and on the 25th instant 
General Scott came in sight of the enemy, and shortly after 
made an attack. General Brown was also on the field in a 
few minutes, and immediately after General Ripley with his 
brigade. The combat now became obstinate and bloody beyond 
all parallel : like the battle of Chippewa it was fought on an 
open field; but here, as at Chippewa, the American army 
was completely victorious. 

Although the enemy had chosen his own ground, on a com- 
manding position, sheltered by heights, superior in numbers, 
and flanked by numerous artillery, he was driven from his 
position at the point of the bayonet, his cannon captured, and 
completely routed. Being reinforced by additional troops, the 
enemy made three unsuccessful attempts to regain his former 
position, by charges on the American line ; the two last of 
which are described as the most desperate in the whole history 
of the war, being decided entirely at the point of the bayonet. 
General Brown, although he had received two severe wounds, 
and was so much exhausted by loss of blood, that at one time 
he was obliged to be supported on his horse by members of his 
staff, evinced through the whole, coolness and intrepidity, 
seemingly determined to maintain his position with his last 
drop of blood, till the victory was complete. General Brown 
was born to excel in his military profession. A stranger to 



MAJOR-GENERAL JACOB BROWN. 133 

surprise or intimidation, he met every emergency with a moral 
courage, his safeguard on the most trying occasions. When 
dangers were greatest, his coolness and resolution shone most 
conspicuous. His plans, which were never rash or impru- 
dent, were distinguished for energy and vigor. 

History informs us, that no enterprise undertaken by 
General Brown ever failed, or which he caused to be exe- 
cuted under the direction of others. It was not until the 
beginning of September, that General Brown was sufficient- 
ly convalescent from his wounds to resume his command. 
Our hero then commenced making secret preparations, and 
on the 17th of September, made a sortie, drove the besiegers 
from their entrenchments, and either destroyed or rendered 
their works wholly unserviceable ; the loss of the enemy was 
one thousand, that of the American army five hundred. On 
the 21st, the enemy abandoned his position, and retreated 
beyond the Chippewa. 

The American army heretofore had been looked upon by the 
British as vacillating and dilatory, and therefore such firmness 
and vigor, accompanied by such offensive movements, were en- 
tirely unexpected, and may in some measure account for such 
signal success. It had been said that the " British bayonet 
w^as irresistible;" but on the Niagara, the tide of victory was 
turned by that very weapon on which lay their invincibility. 
At the close of the war. General Brown was retained in the 
army, and took up his residence at Washington ; but he never 
recovered from the severe wounds received at Fort Erie. His 
health gradually declining, he died at his residence at Wash- 
ington, 24th February, 1828. 

By a resolve of Congress, November 3, 1814, a gold medal 
was struck and presented to General Brown, for his brilliant 
achievements in the battles of Chippewa, Niagara and Erie. 



134 MAJOR-GENERAL JACOB BROWN. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL PRESENTED TO GENERAL BROWN. 

{See Plate VI.) 

Device. — A bust of General Brown. 

Legend. — Major-General Jacob Brown. 

Reverse. — The Roman fasces, as indicative of the union 
and strength of the states ; the top encircled with a laurel 
wreath, from which are suspended three tablets, bearing the 
inscriptions Erie, Niagara, Chippewa ; and encircled by three 
stands of British colors, its wings outspread. 

Legend. — Resolution of Congress, Nov. 3, 1814. 

Exergue. — Battles of Chippew^a, July 5th, 1814 ; Niagara, 
July 25th, 1814; Erie, Sept. 17, 1814. 



u. ^ 



MAJOR-GEN. RIPLEY. 



Eleazer Wheelock Ripley was bom in Hanover, in 
New Hampshire, in the year 1782. His father, the Reverend 
Sylvanus Ripley, was professor of divinity of Dartmouth 
College ; his maternal grandfather was the Reverend Eleazer 
Wheelock, founder of the institution of which his father was 
professor, and the son a graduate. By the same side he w^as 
lineally descended from the celebrated Miles Standish, the 
Scanderberg of his day, w^hose memory is justly cherished as 
the early protector of the Plymouth colony. The Reverend 
Mr. Ripley dying early in life, left a large family under the 
care of his widow, to whose virtuous and devoted attention 
may be ascribed the future success of her offspring, particu- 
larly that of the subject of this memoir, then at the tender 
age of five years. At the age of fourteen, Eleazer was ad- 
mitted to Dartmouth college, from which institution he re- 
ceived the degree of Bachelor of Arts, in the year 1800, being 
only in the eighteenth year of his age. His course, while an 
under graduate, had been distinguished, and at the time of 
graduation he received the highest honors of the college. 
After leaving college, he commenced the study of the law in 
the town of Waterville, Massachusetts. 



136 MAJOR-GENERAL Rli'LEY. 

In this memoir we can only give slioht traces of his early 
life, but infer from the information of historians, that he gave 
early presages in youth of what has since been realized in 
manhood. He was assiduous and successful in his studies, 
and exemplary in his life and conduct ; and the early emi- 
nence attained by Mr. Ripley in his profession, tested the 
assiduity with which he had devoted himself to the study of 
it. In the year 1807, he was elected to the legislature of 
Massachusetts, from the town of Winslow, in that state. At 
the period when the nation first felt the effect of the offensive 
edicts of the two great belligerent powers of Europe, Mr. 
Ripley's political character strongly developed itself. He was 
aware that the insults and aoro-ressions of France would lead 
to a war, for which just cause had been given, provided the 
equal avidity and greater means of annoyance of Great Bri- 
tain did not make that country the mark of an equally just 
enmity. 

When, in the year 1808, their combined hostility became 
more apparent and oppressive, he conceived that was the 
moment for a declaration of war, for which the country would 
never be better prepared, a crisis which sooner or later must 
come. 

In 1811, Mr. Ripley was elected to the chair of the speaker 
of the house of Representatives of Massachusetts, vacated by 
the late Hon. Joseph Story ; over which he presided with dis- 
tinguished ability and impartiality. 

In 1812, he declared for the necessity of a war, and was 
induced to assume an active duty in it, by accepting a lieu- 
tenant-colonelcy in the army of the United States. On leaving 
his civil and legislative duties, Colonel Ripley was entrusted 
by the commander-in-chief with the charge of a sub-district, 
from Saco to the eastern frontier, with orders to place the 
same in the best posture of defence. To this was added the 



major-gp:neral ripley. 137 

superintendence of the recruiting service, which in a short 
time embodied his recruits into a regiment, called the twenty- 
first, of which he had the sole command. 

With this regiment he marched to Plattsburgh, on the 
northern frontier, where an army under the command of the 
late General Pike was encamped. 

The winter of 1812 he spent with his regiment at Burling- 
ton, Vermont, where he commenced that school of discipline 
and police which led his regiment to its subsequent fame, 
and made it the model of the army. In March, 1813, Colonel 
Ripley left his winter quarters for Sacket's Harbor, to join 
General Pike's brigade, and prepare for the attack on York, 
Upper Canada. On the 23d of April, the troops embarked 
on that enterprise, and on the morning of the 27th, arrived 
before the town which was the object of it. The immediate 
command of the assault was entrusted to General Pike. On 
entering the bay of York the ships were severely cannonaded 
by the forts defending the harbor, while they in turn covered 
with their guns a large portion of the beach, on which it was 
intended that the troops should form. On the debarkation of 
a body of riflemen under Major Forsyth, the enemy fled to 
the woods, giving time for the main body to form on the beach, 
and move in close column to the attack of the principal fort. 
The troops thronged into the works, when the awful explosion 
of the magazine took place, which annihilated the leading 
columns, and mortally wounded their gallant commander 
General Pike. During the confusion, the enemy called in his 
detached parties, and concentrated his force in the town. 
Colonel Ripley, who also had been wounded in the explosion, 
soon collected his scattered army and prepared to charge the 
enemy, who made a precipitate retreat, leaving an immense 
quantity of artillery and stores, some few prisoners, and the 
town to make its own conditions. A surrender was made, 
18 



138 J\IAJOR-CENERAL RIPLEY. 

and Colonel Ripley's regiment was stationed to guard the 
property of the citizens from depredation. On the 30th, the 
army re-embarked for the assault of Fort George ; but a long 
and severe storm detained and prevented its reaching its des- 
tination until the 27th of May, when Fort George was as- 
saulted and taken. On the 3d of June, Colonel Ripley having 
been ordered to return to Sacket's Harbor to organize the large 
body of recruits collected during the winter, reached that place 
on the 11th instant, where he was detained by severe indis- 
position, until the 15th of July; from that time until October 
the regiment was employed in an incessant course of instruc- 
tion ; the drill, general discipline, and police, were carried to 
their highest perfection, which produced the most successful 
results. In November following, Colonel Ripley and the 21st 
regiment played a conspicuous part in the descent of the St. 
Lawrence; after which they retired again to their winter 
quarters at Sacket's Harbor. In the spring of 1814, the army 
w^as put in motion for the Niagara frontier. On the 15th of 
April, Colonel Ripley w^as created brigadier-general, and early 
took his leave of the corps of his own training, the 21st regi- 
ment. The command of General Ripley was not augmented 
by his increased rank. The division of the army under 
General Brown consisted of two brigades, of which General 
Scott commanded the first, General Ripley the second. From 
the 4th of May mitil the 3d of July, the army pursued its 
usual routine of instruction, when it commenced the passage 
of the Niagara, and invaded the province of Upper Canada. 
On the morning of the 5th, General Brow^n detached a portion 
of General Porter's volunteers to drive back a body of the 
enemy's light troops and Indians that infested a wood on the 
left wing of the army. About mid-day Generals Brown and 
Ripley advanced to ascertain the effect of this attempt, when 
it was observed that the firing, which had been irregular and 



MAJOR-GENERAL RIPLEY. 139 

receding, from the circumstance of the enemy's having been 
driven back, changed into a regular heavy platoon discharge. 
This discovery made it necessary for Generals Ripley and 
Scott to join them ; they had scarcely advanced when the 
enemy appeared in line, and the brilliant action ensued, so 
well known, and so justly celebrated, which caused the enemy 
to retire in such rapid and confused precipitation across the 
Chippewa, that no attempt to impede his flight could prove 
effectual. Everything that could not be moved in haste was 
abandoned, and the enemy retreating into his entrenchments, 
left the American army undisturbed possession of the ground 
in front of them. From this until the 24th the army were in 
frequent skirmishes with the enemy. As the succeeding day 
produced the most memorable battle during the war, there are 
circumstances which require a somewhat minute relation, and 
which are given on these pages from the concurring testimony 
of the most distinguished officers present. During the course 
of the 25th, a piquet stationed beyond the Chippewa, reported 
the advance of a small party of the enemy on the Niagara 
road, and that several columns had been thrown across the 
river to Lewistown, to proceed towards Schlosser, to seize on 
our wounded and bag-oraore. General Scott, in order to draw 

DO O ' 

them back, made a demonstrative movement toward Queens- 
town. About two hours after its departure a fire of musketry 
was heard, on which General Ripley immediately formed his 
brigade, to be in readiness for an emergency of which he had 
not been apprised ; scarcely was it ranged, when the increased 
fire of musketry, accompanied by heavy discharges of artil- 
lery, announced the unexpected certainty of General Scott's 
being engaged. Shortly afterwards an order arrived from 
General Brown, directing him to advance. 

The enemy was posted on an eminence, his artillery in the 
centre, and from it, and a long line of infantry, poured on the 



140 MAJOR-GENERAL RIPLEY. 

first brigade an annihilating fire : that brigade had held posi- 
tion in direct front of the enemy, less than one hundred yards 
distance; the action had continued nearly two hours, daring 
which an attempt to turn our left had been repulsed, but no 
advance had been made on the enemy's line, which, from its 
superior position, beyond the reach of material annoyance 
from our artillery, kept up so deadly a fire that the first bri- 
gade w^as fast sinking under the effect of it. The 25th 
regiment line of brigade, under the command of Major, now 
General Jessup, being thrown on the enemy's right flank, 
captured General Riall, and performed other acts of heroism 
reflecting the most unfading honor on its gallant commander. 
At the same instant he formed the 21st regiment under the 
command of the brave Colonel now General Miller, to attack 
the cannon in direct line in front, and to push both the 21st 
and 23d regiments upon the enemy. The two bodies struck 
the enemy's line at nearly the same moment, the 21st falling 
immediately upon the cannon, the 23d on the infantry sup- 
porting it. At this moment of confusion it is scarcely possi- 
ble to do justice to many individuals most honorably engaged. 
Colonel Miller, to whom the sole charge of the attack in front 
was entrusted, evinced that unconquerable gallantry which is 
identified by but one spirit, and that of the noblest sort. As 
the enemy w^as now advancing under cover of the darkness, 
General Ripley gave orders that the fire should be retained 
until that of the assailants was received, in order that ours 
might be made more eff"ective by being directed by the light 
of his. In a few moments he advanced to within a distance 
of ten or twelve paces, and, from a line far outflanking ours, 
poured in one continued blaze of musketry ; this was promptly 
answered by our troops, and at this short distance, a tremen- 
dous conflict commenced : for the space of twenty minutes an 
incessant gleam of light was emitted from both lines ; sections 



MAJOR-GENERAL RIPLEY. 141 

mutually recoiled where the severity of the fire was most 
excessive ; those on our side were inspirited and brought 
again to the charge by the personal exertion of General Rip- 
ley, and such a vigor infused in their resistance, that the 
enemy was forced back in confusion, and fell to the bottom of 
the hill. During the short period that intervened between 
this charge and a subsequent repetition of it, the first brigade 
was forming itself in the rear of the second, and at the moment 
when the two lines were in their second encounter. General 
Scott passed his corps through an opening in the one before 
it, to throw himself upon the enemy then engaged in a vigor- 
ous discharge of musketry. From this point he again ad- 
vanced to the attack of the enemy's right flank, but being 
cofnpelled to fall back, he left his brigade on the left and 
pushed along the line to the extreme right. The enemy's 
second charge being repulsed, General Ripley still retained 
his position on the eminence. It was now midnight, and the 
enemy being reinforced, advanced to his third and most vigor- 
ous eifort. The same deadly assault was made, which in 
like manner w^as frustrated and forced back. This was a 
perfect skirmish ; the enemy mingled himself with our ranks ; 
two of our guns were spiked, and the utmost confusion pre- 
vailed in every direction ; but by the firmness and bravery of 
the 21st regiment and its gallant officers, the line was pre- 
served, and the enemy again, and for the last time, recoiled 
from it in confusion and dismay; leaving the line under 
General Ripley master of the field. The darkness was now 
impenetrable, and although the field, on which were strewed 
our dead and wounded, was ours, an enemy of superior force 
was on its borders, and of the measures which his late dis- 
comfiture might induce him to adopt we were necessarily 
ignorant. Under these circumstances General Ripley con- 
densed the remnant of our shattered force and marched toward 



142 MAJOR-GENERAL RIPLEY. 

Chippewa. Such was the memorable battle of Niagara; 
although the conquest w^as ours, one-third of our slender force 
engaged in it were now wounded or dead. Some time after 
midnight the army arrived at its encampment, when General 
Ripley waited on General Brown, then wounded, in his tent. 
General Brown requested that General Ripley should refresh 
the troops, of which the whole command now rested with him, 
march them in the morning to the battle-field, and if the 
enemy appeared there in force, to be governed entirely by 
circumstances. 

At daybreak the army was arranged, and the march com- 
menced, when they found the enemy had been reinforced 
since the battle of the preceding evening, and that it would 
be an act of madness to attack an enemy thus increased, with 
two-thirds only of the force in the previous conflict. The 
army consequently retrograded across the Chippewa, the bridge 
of which tliey destroyed, and likewise everything that might 
aid the enemy's advance. 

They reached Fort Erie on the 27th of July, and com- 
menced a course of labors that would now be deemed beyond 
the reach of accomplishment. The redoubts, abattis, traverses 
and entrenchments were instantly commenced, and the ability 
of an army in patience, vigor and hardihood, was never more 
fully elicited ; nor can any monument of military exertion show 
a greater amoimt of labor accomplished in a shorter period, 
than can the works of Fort Erie from the 27th of July until 
the 3d of August. The impediments given to the advance of 
the enemy by General Ripley, had retarded iiis approach until 
that day. By one or two days of previous advance, he might 
have found the American army unintrenched and exposed; he 
now found it in a situation to defy him. 

He arrived and planted his main camp about two miles 
distant, and in front of it a line of circumvaUation extendintj 



MAJOR-GENERAL RIPLEY. 143 

around our fortifications ; it consisted of two lines of entrench- 
ment supported by block-houses; in front of these, and at 
favorable points, batteries, from which an incessant and de- 
structive fir^ was poured on our encampment. 

On the 14th of August, about midnight, General Ripley 
perceived indications of an attack, which he had been for 
some time anticipating ; accordingly, about one o'clock on the 
morning of the 15th, the firing of the piquet confirmed Gene- 
ral Ripley's impressions. 

Lieutenant Belknap, who commanded the piquet, per- 
ceiving the enemy's column approach through the darkness, 
fired and retreated to the works. The assailants were allowed 
to approach near to the works, when the fire from the 21st 
and 23d regiments, and the incessant blaze of the battery, 
drove them back in confusion, without the enemy having made 
the least impression. 

The charge was again renewed on the abattis between the 
battery and the lake, which was again and in the same man- 
ner frustrated. A third and last attempt was made to pass 
the point of the abattis, by wading into the work by the lake. 
Like the other attempts, this also was defeated, and the part of 
the enemy which survived the destruction to which it had 
been exposed, fell back in confusion from the works. Through- 
out these several and varied attacks from a force so overwhelm- 
ing, the second brigade evinced its accustomed discipline, and 
its officers the high and gallant spirit they held in common 
with their leader. Reinforcements were detached to different 
points, changes of position made, new shapes of the enemy's 
attack on the right, a part deemed the least vulnerable, were 
found more effectual. He had succeeded in making a lodge- 
ment in the bastion, which was left to the defence of artillery 
only, unsupported by infantry, as had been the previous cus- 
tom. From this, however, he was soon dislodged, and after 



144 MAJOR-GENERAL RIPLEY. 

a dreadful repulse, all became as tranquil on the right as it 
had previously become on the left. When morning appeared, 
the flower of the British army lay dead or wounded before the 
American works. The commanders of the thi;ee assailing 
columns shared the same fate, and of the force which the last 
night thronged toward the fortification, the miserable remains 
of the greater part never returned from it. 

The only prisoners taken during the night, were made by 
a sally ordered by General Ripley. His position was deemed 
the least of any part of the force engaged, while he inflicted 
on the enemy the greatest. The enemy now commenced with 
batteries in every direction. Hot shot, shells and other destruc- 
tive implements were showered in vast profusion ; every house, 
tent and hut were perforated, and many of our best soldiers 
destroyed. This warfare was kept up at intervals, by daily 
skirmishes, until the 17th of September, the day allotted for 
the sortie which terminated the sieffe ; when the besiegers 
vielded to the besies^ed, and a force regfular and irregular, of 
two thousand men, drove the enemy from his entrenchments, 
beat and scattered a regular enemy of four thousand men. 

Extract of an official letter to the secretary of war, after the 
sortie of Fort Erie: — "On the morning of the 17th, General 
Miller was directed to station his command in the ravine, 
which lies between Fort Erie and the enemy's batteries, by 
passing them by detachments through the skirts of the wood ; 
and the 21st infantry, under General Ripley, was posted as a 
corps of reserve, between the new bastions of Fort Erie, ail 
under cover and out of the view of the enemy. About twenty 
minutes before three, P. M., the left columns, under the com- 
mand of General Porter, which were destined to turn the 
enemy's right, were within a few rods of the British entrench- 
ments. They were ordered to advance and commence the 
action. Passing down the ravine, it was judged from the 



MAJOR-GENERAL RIPLEY. 145 

report of musketry, that the action had commenced on our 
left ; orders were given to General Miller to seize the moment 
and pierce the enemy's entrenchment, between batteries No. 
2 and 3, which orders were promptly and ably executed. 
Within thirty minutes after the first gun was fired, batteries 
No. 2 and 3, the enemy's Une of entrenchments, and his two 
block-houses were in our possession. Soon after, battery No. 
1 was abandoned by the British. The guns in each were 
spiked by us, or otherwise destroyed, and the magazine of 
No. 3 was blown up. A few minutes before the explosion, 
the reserve, under General Ripley, was ordered up ; as he 
passed, at the head of his column, he was desired he would 
have a care that not more of the troops were hazarded than 
the occasion of the sortie required. General Ripley passed 
rapidly on. 

" Soon after fears were entertained for the safety of General 
Miller, and an order sent for the 21st to hasten to his support, 
towards battery No. 1. Colonel Upham received the order 
and advanced to the aid of General Miller. General Ripley 
had inclined to the left, and while making some necessary 
inquiries was unfortunately wounded in the neck, severely, 
but not dangerously. By this time the object of the sortie 
was accomplished beyond the most sanguine expectations of 
the commander and his generals. General Miller had con- 
sequently ordered the troops on the right to fall back. Ob- 
serving this movement, the staff of General Brown was di- 
rected along the line, to call in the other corps. Within a 
few minutes they retired from the ravine, and from thence to 
camp. Thus one thousand regulars, and an equal portion of 
militia, in one hour of close action, blasted the hopes of the 
enemy, destroyed the fruits of fifty days' labor, and diminished 
his effective force at least one thousand men." 

After the battle, General Ripley was removed to the Ame- 
. 19 



146 MAJOR-GENERAL RIPLEY. 

rican side of the river, and throughout a course of severe 
suffering for three months his Ufe was despaired of At the 
commencement of his convalescence he v^as removed by short 
journeys to Albany, where the best medical aid was procured, 
yet it M^as nearly a year before he was sufficiently recovered 
to attend to any military duties. The speedy return of peace 
caused a reduction in the army, but General Ripley was re- 
tained with the brevet and command of major-general. Con- 
gress testified their approbation of his gallant services by a 
vote of thanks, and the presentation of a gold medal, {See 
Plate VI ;) and the states of New York, Massachusetts, South 
Carolina and Georgia, and the country at large, have by 
honorary tokens and expressions, testified their grateful ac- 
knowledgments for his gallantry. 

On the return of General Ripley's health, he removed to 
his estate at Baton Rouge, near New Orleans, from whence 
he was elected to Congress. He died in 1834, in the fifty- 
second year of his age, respected by a numerous circle of 
friends, who admired his bravery as a soldier, and his virtues 
as a man. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Battles of Chippewa, Niagara and Erie. 

Device. — Bust of General Ripley. 

Legend. — Brigadier-General Eleazer W. Ripley. 

Reverse. — Victory holding up a tablet among the branches 
of a palm tree, inscribed with "Niagara, Chippewa, Erie." 
In her right hand, which gracefully hangs by her side, are a 
trumpet and laurel wreath. 

Legend. — Resolution of Congress, Nov. 3, 1814. 

Exergue. — Battles of Chippewa, July 5th, 1814; Niagara, 
July 28th, 1814; Erie. Sept. 17th, 1814. 



GEN. PETER B. PORTER, 



Peter B. Porter was born of very respectable parents, 
in Salisbury, Connecticut, August 14th, 1773. His father 
intending him for the profession of the law, entered him at 
Yale College, in his own state, where he graduated with high 
honors to himself and great satisfaction to his preceptors. 

Having completed his law studies, he established himself in 
his native town, from whence he was elected to Congress, 
where he remained as chairman of the " Committee of Foreign 
Relations" till 1811. At that period this country was pre- 
paring for a war with England, with which she had long been 
threatened, and every buoyant spirit seemed anxious to take 
up arms in his country's cause ; and no part of the commu- 
nity engaged in it with greater ardor than the members of the 
bar. 

During the same year he was appointed with Governor 
Morris, Stephen Van Rensselaer, De Witt Clinton, William 
North, Simeon De Witt, Thomas Eddy, Robert R. Livings- 
ton and Robert Fulton, the first commissioners in relation to 
inland navigation, being the incipient step that led, in the 
sequel, to the noble works of art and improvement, which con- 



14S GENERAL PETER B. PORTER. 

tributed so laroelv (whatever excesses may have been com- 
mitted) to the olorv and prosperity of the state of New York. 
These labors ^^-ere suspended, however, by the Mar oi' ISlvJ. 
and for these civic duties. General Porter exchanged the pri- 
vations and dan^rors of the frontier campaigns. Residing 
then at Black Rock, he was in the midst of the most event- 
ful and stirrino- of the border scenes. He rallied the hastily 
g-athered volunteers, who repelled the tirst invasion of that 
place in midsummer. IS 13; and shared, at the liead of his 
corps, with intrepiditv and skill, in those brilliant and memo- 
rable battles of the succeeding year. 

In the official papers of General Brown to the secretary of 
war. after the battle of Chippewa, he speaks of General Por- 
ter as follows: — •• General Scott having selected this plain 
with the eve of a soldier, his right resting on the river, and a 
ravine in front, was joined early in the morning of the 5th by 
General Porter, with a part of the New York and Pennsyl- 
vania volunteers, and some o( the warriors of the Six Nations. 
At 4 o'clock, P. M.. General Porter advanced from the rear of 
our camp with the volunteers and Indians, (taking the woods, 
in order to keep out of view of the enemy.) with a hope of 
brinoino- his pickets and scouting parties between his (Por- 
ter's) line of march and our camp. As Porter moved, the 
parties advanced in front of our camp, fell back gradually 
under the enemv's lire, in order, if possible, to draw him up to 
our line. Before 5 o'clock, the advance of General Porter's 
command met the light parties of the enemy in the woods, 
upon our extreme left — the enemy were driven : and Porter, 
advancino- near to Chippewa, met their whole column in order 
of battle." He also observes: — --The conduct of General 
Porter has been conspicuously gallant : every assistance in 
his power to atVord. with the description of tbrce under his 
command, has been rendered." 

In the ofhcKvl details ol the battle of BridoreA\-ater, General 



GENERAL PETER 13. POR'l'ER. 149 

Brown also says : — " It was with great pleasure I saw the 
good order and intrepidity of General Porter's volunteers, 
from the moment of their arrival ; but, during the last charge 
of the enemy, those qualities were conspicuous. Stimulated 
by their gallant leader, they precipitated themselves upon the 
enemy's line, and made all the prisoners which were taken at 
this point of the action." 

In General Gaines' detailed report of the battle of Fort Erie, 
the August following, he says : — " General Porter's brigade, 
of New York and Pennsylvania volunteers, with our distin- 
guished riflemen, occupied the centre." After describing the 
action, General Gaines observes : — Brigadier-General Porter, 
commanding the New York and Pennsylvania volunteers, 
manifested a degree of vigilance and judgment in his prepara- 
tory arrangements, as well as military skill and courage in 
action, which proves him to be worthy the confidence of his 
country, and the brave volunteers who fought under him." 
During the next session Congress passed the following resolu- 
tion : — '' Resolved, that the President of the United States be 
requested to cause a gold medal {See Plate VI) to be struck, 
with suitable emblems and devices, and presented to Major- 
General Porter, in testimony of the high sense entertained by 
Congress for his gallantry and good conduct in the several 
conflicts of Chippewa, Niagara and Erie." In 1816, he was 
appointed Secretary of State, in place of Jacob Rutsen Van 
Rensselaer, but he declined the appointment, having been 
elected to Congress the previous year. Near the close of his 
congressional term, he was appointed Commissioner, under 
the British treaty, to run the boundary line between the United 
States and Canada. In 1817, he was the antagonist candidate 
to De Witt Clinton, in the democratic canvass held for the 
nomination of Governor, and at the election received a few 
votes, cast by politicians in the city of New York, who refused 
to acquiesce in the nomination of Clinton. In the political con- 



loO GENERAL PETER B TORTKH 

trovorsios of his tune General l\Mtor was a prominent par- 
ticipator, until his retirement from pubUc life with Mr. Adams 
in ISCi^. Under that administration, and for the last year of 
it. he discliarotxi the dnties of Secretary of War. Ho was 
warmly attached to Mr. Clay, and was relateii to liim by the 
marriage of his second wife. A frontier resident during the 
last fortv vcai^ ; p*.>ssessed of large estates on the lx>rder — he 
is identititxi with the history of wcstoru New York, and with 
its o;iivantic progress m the great elements of social and phy- 
sical developments. 

Creneral Porter has been distinguished iu our auuals in ciWc 
and martial life, and there are few among us to whom the 
mee<.i of talents, bravery and patriotism can be more taithfully 
a\\*arded. His priA^ate life was estimable, as his pubhc career 
was brilliant. In his domestic relations he was ingenuous, 
alfectionate and kind. In his intercourse with mankind liis 
deportment drew lu-ound him a numerous circle of friends. 
The active and useful life of this distinguished ser\-ant of his 
country was closed at his residence at Xiag-ara. March *20th. 
IS it. in the seventv-tirst vear of his age. 

r»FSCRIPTTON OF THE MEP.\L. 

Occasion. — Battles of Chippewa. Niagara and Erie. 

Dkvkk — Biisi of Ceneral P. IV Porter. 

Legenp — Major-General P. B. Porter. 

Reverse. — ^ ictorv standing holding a palm branch and 
wreath in lier right hand ; and three stivnds of colors, l>earing 
the inscriptions, •* yinijara. Erie, ChipjttnaS' in her letV The 
Muse of History is recoixling the abcwe names. 

Legend. — Resolution of Congn^ss. Nov. od. 1S14. 

Exergue. — Battles of Chinpewa. .lulyotli. 1S14: Niagara, 
July Ooth. ISl 4 : Erie. Sept. ITth. lSl-4. 



I'UiU'.;. 





m 




% 



V 




•20 






ALEXANDER MACOMB. 



Major-General Alexander Macomb, the son of a respect- 
able fur merchant, was born at Detroit, April 3d, 1782. His 
father removed to New York when he was an infant, and at 
the age of eight years placed him at school at New^ark, New 
Jersey, under the charge of Dr. Ogden, a gentleman of dis- 
tinguished talents and high literary attainments. In 1798, a 
time of great excitement, as invasion by a French army was 
soon expected, Macomb, although quite a youth, was elected 
into a corps called the " New York Rangers;" Congress having 
passed a law receiving volunteers for the defence of the coun- 
try. In 1799, Macomb obtained a cornetcy, and General 
North, then adjutant-general of the northern army, who had 
watched for some time the soldier-like conduct of our hero, 
received him into his staff as deputy adjutant-general. Ma- 
comb, from his intelligence and attention to his profession, 
soon became the favorite of the accomplished North, and the 
pet of his senior officers. He was ambitious of distinction, 
without ostentation, and persevering even to fatigue. 

The thick and dark clouds which hung over the country 



154 ALEXANDER MACOMB. 

ments, and placed tliem near the several forts — declaring, in 
orders, that each detachment was the garrison of its own 
work, and bound to defend it to the last extremity. The 
enemy advanced cautiously, and by short marches, and our 
soldiers worked day and night ; so that, by the time he made 
his appearance before the place, we were prepared to receive 
him. Finding, on examining the returns of the garrison, 
that our force did not exceed fifteen hundred men for duty, 
and well-informed that the enemy had as many thousand, I 
called on General Mooers, of the New York militia, and 
arranged with him plans for bringing forth the militia en 
masse. 

"The inhabitants of the village lied with their families and 
effects, except a few worthy citizens and some boys, who 
formed themselves into a party, received rifles, and were ex- 
ceedingrlv useful. General Mooers arrived with seven hun- 
dred militia and advanced seven miles on the Beekmantown 
road, to watch the motions of the enemy, and to skirmish with 
him as he advanced — also to obstruct the roads with fallen 
trees, and to break up the bridges. On the lake road, at 
Dead-Creek Bridge, I posted two hundred men, under Cap- 
tain Sproul, of the 13th regiment, with orders to abattis the 
woods, to place obstructions in the road, and to fortify him- 
self; to this party I added two field-pieces. In advance of 
that position was Lieutenant-Colonel Appling, with one hun- 
dred and ten riflemen, watching the movements of the enemy 
and procuring intelligence. It was ascertained that before 
daylight, on the 6th, the enemy would advance in two columns, 
on the two roads before mentioned, dividing at Sampson's, a 
little below Chazy village. The column on the Beekmantown 
road proceeded most rapidly; the militia skirmished with 
their advanced parties, and, except a few brave men, fell back 
most precipitately in the greatest disorder, notwithstanding 



ALEXANDER MACOMB. 155 

the British troops did not design to fire on them, except by 
their flankers and advanced patroles. 

" Finding the enemy's columns had penetrated within a 
mile of Plattsburgh, I dispatched my aid-de-camp, Lieutenant 
Root, to bring off the detachment at Dead-Creek, and to 
inform Lieutenant-Colonel Appling that I wished him to fall 
on the enemy's right flank ; the Colonel fortunately arrived 
just in time to save his retreat, and to fall in with the head of 
a column debouching from the woods ; here he poured in a 
destructive fire from his riflemen at rest, and continued to 
annoy the column until he formed a junction with Major 
Wool. The field-pieces did considerable execution among 
the enemy's columns. So undaunted, however, was the 
enemy, that he never deployed in his whole march, always 
pressing on in a column. Finding that every road around 
us was full of troops, crowding in on all sides, I ordered the 
field-pieces to retire across the bridge and form a battery for 
its protection, and to cover the retreat of the infantry, which 
was accordingly done, and the parties of Appling and Wool, 
as well as that of Sproul, retired alternately, keeping up a 
brisk fire until they got under cover of the works. The 
enemy's light troops occupied the houses near the bridge, and 
kept up a constant firing from the windows and balconies, 
and annoyed us much. I ordered them to be driven out with 
hot shot, which soon fired the houses and obliged these sharp- 
shooters to retire. The whole day, until it was too late to 
see, the enemy's light troops endeavored to drive our guards 
from the bridge, but they suffered dearly for their perseve- 
rance. 

" Our troops being now all on the south side of the Sara- 
nac, I directed the planks to be taken off the bridges, and 
piled up in form of breast-works, to cover our parties intended 
for disputing the passage, which afterwards enabled us to hold 



156 ALEXANDER MACOMB. 

the bridges against very superior numbers. From the 7th to 
the 11th, the enemy was employed in getting his battering 
train and erecting his batteries and approaches, and constantly 
skirmishing at the bridges and fords. By this time the militia 
of New York and volunteers from Vermont were pouring in 
from all quarters. I advised General Mooers to keep his force 
along the Saranac, to prevent the enemy crossing the river, 
and to send a strong body in his rear to harass him day and 
night, and keep him in continual alarm. The militia behaved 
with great spirit after tiie first day, and the volunteers from 
Vermont were exceedingly serviceable. 

'' Our regular troops, notwithstanding the constant skirmish- 
ing, and repeated endeavors of the enemy to cross the river, 
kept at their work, day and night, strengthening their de- 
fences, and evinced a determination to hold out to the last 
extreniitv. It was reported that the enemv only awaited the 
arrival of his flotilla to make a general attack. About eight, 
on the morning of the 11th, as was expected, the flotilla ap- 
peared in sight, round Cumberland Head, and at nine, bore 
down and engaged our flotilla, at anchor in the bay off this 
town. At the same instant, the batteries were opened on us, 
and continued throwing bomb-shells, shrapnells, balls and 
congreve rockets until sunset, when the bombardment ceased ; 
every batterv of the enemy being silenced by the superiority 
of our fire. The naval engagement lasted two hours, in full 
view of both armies. Three efforts were made by the enemy 
to pass the river at the commencement of the cannonade and 
bombardment, with a view of assaulting the works, and had 
prepared for that purpose an immense number of scaling lad- 
ders ; one attempt was made to cross at the village bridge ; 
another at the upper bridge ; and a third, at a ford, about 
three miles from the works. At the two first he was repulsed 
by the regulars ; at the ford, by the brave volunteers and 



ALEXANDER MACOMB. 167 

• 

militia — where he suffered severely in killed, wounded and 
prisoners, a considerable body having passed the stream, but 
were either killed, taken, or driven back. The woods at this 
place were very favorable to the operations of our militia ; a 
whole company of the 76tli regiment was here destroyed — the 
three lieutenants and twenty -seven men prisoners ; the cap- 
tain and the rest killed. I cannot forego the pleasure of here 
stating the gallant conduct of Captain McGlassin, of the 15th 
regiment, who was ordered to ford the river and attack a party 
constructing a battery on the right of the enemy's line, within 
five hundred yards of Fort Brown — which he handsomely 
executed, at midnight, with fifty men ; drove off the working 
party consisting of one hundred and fifty, and defeated a 
covering party of the same number, killing one officer and 
six men in the charge and wounding many. At dusk, the 
enemy withdrew his artillery from the batteries, and raised 
the siege ; and at nine, under cover of the night, sent off all 
the heavy baggage he could find transport for, and also his 
artillery. At two the next morning, the whole army pre- 
cipitately retreated, leaving the sick and wounded to our 
generosity ; and the governor left a note with a surgeon, re- 
questing the humane attention of the commanding general. 

" Vast quantities of provision were left behind and de- 
stroyed ; also, an immense quantity of bomb-shells, cannon- 
balls, grape-shot, ammunition, flints, &c. &c. ; intrenching 
tools of all sorts, also tents and marquees. A great quantity 
has been found in the ponds and creeks, and buried in the 
ground, and a vast quantity carried off by the inhabitants. 
Such was the precipitance of his retreat, that he arrived at 
Chazy, a distance of eight miles, before we had discovered 
his departure. The light troops, volunteers and militia, pur- 
sued immediately on learning his flight ; and some of the 
mounted men made prisoners, five dragoons of the 19th, and 



158 ALEXANDER MACOMB. 

several others of the rear guard. A continued fall of rain, 
and a violent storm, prevented further pursuit. Upwards of 
three hundred deserters have come in, and many are hourly 
arriving. The loss of the enemy in killed, wounded, prison- 
ers and deserters, since his first appearance, cannot fall short 
of two thousand five hundred, including many officers, among 
w^hom is Colonel Wellington, of the Buffs. Killed and 
wounded on the American side ; thirty -seven killed, sixty-six 
wounded — missing, twenty ; making one hundred and twenty- 
three. The whole force under Sir George Prevost amounted 
to fourteen thousand. The conduct of the officers, non-com- 
missioned officers and soldiers of my command, during this 
trying occasion, cannot be represented in too high terms. 
" I have the honor, &.c. 

"Alex. Macomb." 

This victory was as brilliant as it was unexpected. The 
event had a most happy effect on the negotiations then going 
on at Ghent, and unquestionably hastened the treaty of peace. 
Testimonials of respect poured in upon General Macomb 
from every quarter of the country. Congress voted the thanks 
of the country and a gold medal, [See Plate VII.) The 
President promoted him to the rank of major-general, dating 
his commission on the day of his victory. 

At the conclusion of the war General Macomb was stationed 
at his native town, Detroit, and appointed to the command of 
the northwestern frontier. In 1821 he was called to Wash- 
ington, to take the office of chief of the engineer department; 
the duties of which he discharged to the general satisfaction 
of the government and army, until the death of General 
Brown, in 1835 ; he was then nominated to that station, which 
nomination was confirmed by the senate, and he succeeded 
him as commander-in-chief of the army. In this capacity he 



ALEXANDER MACOMB. 159 

continued to reside at the seat of government, where he died 
on the 25th of June, 1841, aged fifty-nine years. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Battle of Plattsburgh. 

Device. — Bust of General Macomb. 

Legend. — Major-General Alexander Macomb. 

Reverse. — A battle on land, Plattsburgh in sight : troops 
crossing a bridge, on the head of which the American stand" 
ard is flying : vessels engaged on the lake. 

Legend. — Resolution of Congress, November 3, 1814. 

Exergue. — Battle of Plattsburgh, September 11th, 1814. 



GEN. ANDREW JACKSON. 



Andrew Jackson was born on the 15th of March, 1767, 
at the Waxhaw settlement, in South Carohna. His parents, 
who were natives of the north of Ireland, emigrated to this 
country about two years previous to the birth of their son. 
Having lost his father at an early age, he was left to the care 
of a faithful and devoted mother, who was anxious to give 
him such an education as her limited means would permit. 
For this purpose she placed him at an academy, where he 
remained until his studies were interrupte(i»by the advance of 
the British troops into the neighborhood, involving his native 
spot in a scene of commotion. At the age of fourteen he 
abandoned his studies for the colonial camp ; where, in com- 
pany with an elder brother, he joined the American army. 
The troops to which they were attached withdrew to North 
Carolina, but soon returned again to their own state. Before 
long they had the misfortune of being made prisoners by the 
enemy, who treated them with great barbarity, and inflicted 
injuries upon them from which the brother soon after died. 

Andrew only escaped with his life, by receiving on his hand 
the stroke of the sword w^hich w^as aimed with fury at his 



GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON. 161 

head, by an excited British officer, for refusing to perform 
some menial service. 

His mother survived the death of her son but a few weeks, 
thus leaving Andrew sole heir to the small estate possessed by 
his late parents. In 1784, he commenced the study of law 
in Salisbury, North Carolina; was admitted to practice in 
1786, and removed in 1788 to Nashville, Tennessee, then a 
new settlement in the western district of North Carolina. 
This district having been ceded to the United States, and 
organized into a territory in 1790, he was appointed to the 
office of United States attorney ; and when tlie territory, in 
its turn in 1796, became the state of Tennessee, he w^as a 
leading member of the convention to frame a constitution for 
it, and took a conspicuous part in the proceedings of that body. 
Professional success attended him, in consequence of the sin- 
gular condition of the settlers, and being the only practitioner, 
introduced him to a lucrative business. He was soon after 
chosen a representative, and the next year a senator in 
Congress; his seat in the senate he resigned at the end of 
the first session; but was immediately appointed, by the 
legislature of Tennessee, a judge of the supreme court of 
that state, an office from which he also soon retired. At 
his farm on the Cumberland river, near Nashville, he con- 
tinued to reside till the breaking out of the w^ar with Great 
Britain in 1812. From this time until 1814, Andrew Jackson 
w as employed by government at the head of between two 
and three thousand volunteers, as a major-general, against a 
hostile movement of the Creek and Muscog-ee Indians, who 
had invaded the frontier settlements of Alabama and Georgia, 
and inflicted on the inhabitants the usual horrors of savage 
warfare. After a succession of bloody victories achieved by 
him over these tribes, a treaty was concluded, and they agreed 
to suspend their warfare. In 1814 he was appointed a major- 
21 



162 GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON. 

general in the United States service ; and proceeded to take 
the command of the forces intended for the defence of New 
Orleans, against the apprehended attack of the enemy. On 
arriving there on the 1st of December, he took decided mea- 
sures, acting with the greatest promptness. Fearing the treach- 
ery of some disaffected individuals, he at once proclaimed 
martial law, superseding at once the civil authority by the 
introduction of a rigid military police. Towards the enemy 
he acted with the most determined energy. The British 
troops had no sooner effected a landing, than he marched 
against them, and by assailing them in the night of the 22d 
of December, gained great advantages, not only by proving to 
his followers what their ability was able to perform, but also 
to communicate to the invaders what they had to encounter. 

This protracted contest was brought to a close by the 
memorable battle of the Sth of January, 1815, which raised 
the reputation of the American commander to the highest 
pitch among his countrymen, and served as a satisfactory 
apology, with many, for the strong measures adopted by him 
before the landing of the enemy, and immediately on his 
retreat. Congress voted to General Jackson the thanks of 
that body and a gold medal. {See Plate VII.) 

In 1818 General Jackson conducted a war against the 
Seminole Indians, and with a force of Georgia militia and 
volunteers from Tennessee, he penetrated into Florida to the 
villages of the savages and fugitive slaves who had joined 
them, setting fire to their habitations and scattering devasta- 
tion in all directions. In 1821, he was appointed governor of 
Florida, that territory having been transferred by Spain to 
the United States, but resigned the office at the end of one 
year and returned to his farm near Nashville. 

In 1822 the legislature of Tennessee nominated General 
Jackson as the successor of Mr. Monroe, in the presidency of 



GENERAL ANDREW JAL'KSON. 163 

the United States ; the proposition was favorably received in 
many parts of the Union, but by the provisions of the con- 
stitution the election devolved on the House of Representa- 
tives, in Congress, voting- by states, and Mr. Adams was 
selected to be the president. General Jackson was at once 
nominated to succeed Mr. Adams, and was elected president 
in 1828, and again in 1832 he was re-elected to that high 
office. 

At the end of his second term, General Jackson retired to 
his farm called the " Hermitage," near Nashville, where he 
remained until his death, which took place on the 8th of June, 
1845, in the 78th year of his age. Though enfeebled in 
body he retained his mental faculties undiminished until the 
day of his death. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Victory at New Orleans. 

Device. — Bust of General Jackson. 

Legend. — Major-General Andrew Jackson. 

Reverse. — Victory seated and supporting a tablet before 
her with her left hand, which also holds a laurel wreath ; has 
commenced the record of the glorious victory of the 8th of 
January, 1815, and headed the tablet with the word Orleans, 
but is interrupted by a female personifying peace, who holds 
an olive branch in her right hand, and with her left points to 
the tablet, as if directing Victory to record the peace between 
the United States and England. Victory is in the act of turn- 
ing round to listen to her instructress. 

Exergue. — Battle of New Orleans, January 8th, 1815. 

Legend. — Resolution of Congress, February 27th, 1815. 



GEN. ISAAC SHELBY. 



Isaac Shelby, a distinguished American revolutionary 
officer, was born on the 11th of December, 1750, near the 
North Mountain, in Maryland, where his father and grand- 
father settled after their emigration to America from AY ales. 
In that early settlement of the country, which was much an- 
noyed by wars Avith the Indians. Shelby obtained only the 
elements of a plain English education ; but borii with a rug- 
ged constitution, capable of bearing privations and fatigue, he 
became accustomed to the early use of arms and pursuit of 
game. General Evan Shelby, the father of the subject of 
this memoir, was born in Wales, and arrived in this country 
when quite a small lad with his father, and settled near 
Hagerstown, Maryland. He possessed a strong mind, with great 
perseverance and unshaken courage, which, with his skill as a 
hunter and woodsman, induced his appointment as captain of 
a company of rangers, in the French and Indian war, which 
commenced in 1754. During this year he made several suc- 
cessful expeditions into the Alleghany mountains. He fought 
manv severe battles witli the unfortunate Braddock. and was 



GENERAL ISAAC SHELBV. 165 

appointed a captain in the provincial army destined for the 
reduction of Fort Du Quesne, now Pittsburgh. He planned 
and laid out the old Pennsylvania road across the Alleghany 
mountains, and led the advance of the army commanded by 
General Forbes, which took possession of Fort Du Quesne 
in 1758. He was distinguished for his bravery at the battle 
of Loyal Hanning, now Bedford, Pennsylvania. In 1772 he 
removed to the western waters, and commanded a company 
in 1774, in the campaign under Lewis and Lord Dunmore, 
against the Indians on the Scioto river. Isaac Shelby was 
appointed a lieutenant in. the company of his father, and fought 
in the memorable battle of Kenhawa, and at the close of that 
campaign was appointed by Lord Dunmore to be second in 
command of a garrison, to be erected on the ground where 
this battle was fought. This was considered to be the most 
severe battle ever fought with the western Indians ; the con- 
test continued from sunrise to sunsetting, and the ground along 
the banks of the Ohio, for nearly half a mile, was scattered 
with bodies at the end of the conflict. The Indians, under 
their celebrated chief, Cornstalk, abandoned the ground during 
the darkness of the night. Lieutenant Isaac Shelby remained 
in this garrison until 1775, when it was disbanded by Gover- 
nor Dunmore, fearing it might be held for the benefit of the 
rebel authorities ; he then removed to Kentucky, and engaged 
in the business of a land surveyor ; but after living for nearly 
twelve months in the cane-breaks, without either bread or salt, 
his health began to decline and he returned to Virginia. 

Immediately on his return in 1776, the committee of safety 
in Virginia, appointed him captain of a minute company — a 
species of troops organized upon the first breaking out of the 
revolution, but not called into service from the extreme fron- 
tier where he lived. In the year 1777 he was appointed by 
Governor Henry a commissary of supplies for an extensive 



166 GENERAL ISAAC SHELBY. 

body of militia, posted at different garrisons to guard the fron- 
tier settlements, and for a treaty to be held at the Long Island 
of Holston river A^ith the Cherokee tribe of Indians. These 
supplies could not be obtained nearer than Staunton. Virginia, 
a distance of three hundred miles; but, by the most inde- 
fatio-able perseverance, one of the most prominent traits in 
his character, he accomphshed it to the satisfaction of his 
country. In 177S he was still engaged in the commissary 
department to provide supplies for the continental army, and 
for a formidable expedition, by the \vay of Pittsburgh, against 
the north-\vestern Indians. In 1779 he was appointed by 
Governor Henrv to furnish supphes for a campaign against 
the Chicamauira Indians — a numerous banditti on the south 
side of the Tennessee river, under the control of a daring 
Cherokee chief, called Dragon Canoe, who, after his defeat at 
the Long Island of Holston, in 1776, had declared eternal 
war against the whites. 

The frontiers from Georgia to Pennsylvania suffered from 
their depredations, more than from all the other hostile tribes 
together. Owing to the poverty- of the treasury at this time, 
the government was unable to advance the necessary frinds, 
and the whole expense of the supplies, including transporta- 
tion, was sustained by his own individual credit. In the 
spring of that year he was elected a member of the Virginia 
legislature from Washington county, and in the fall of that 
year, was commissioned by Governor Jefferson as a major in 
the escort of guards to the commissioners for extending the 
boundary line between that state and the state of North 
Carohna. By the extension of that line Major Shelby became 
a resident of North Carohna. and Governor Caswell imme- 
diately appointed him a colonel of the militia of the new 
county of Sullivan, established in consequence of the addi- 
tional territory acquired by the riuining of that hue. During 



GENERAL ISAAC SHELBY. 167 

the summer of 1780, whilst Colonel Shelby was in Kentucky, 
securing and laying out those lands which he had five years 
previously improved for himself, the intelligence of the sur- 
render of Charleston and the loss of the army, reached him. 

He immediately returned home, determined to enter the 
service of his country, to quit it no more but by death, or 
until her independence should be secured. He was not will- 
ing to be a cool spectator of a contest in which the dearest 
rights and interests of his country were involved. On his 
arrival in Sullivan, he found a requisition from General 
McDowell, requesting him to furnish all the aid in his power 
to check the enemy, who had overrun the two southern states, 
and were on the borders of North Carolina. 

Colonel Shelby without delay called on the militia of his 
county to volunteer their services for only a short time, on an 
occasion so trying, and accordingly he collected three hundred 
mounted riflemen, and marched across the Alleghany moun- 
tains. Having arrived at McDowall's camp, near the Chero- 
kee ford of Broad river, Colonel Shelby was detached with 
Lieutenant-Colonels Sevier and Clarke, with six hundred men, 
to surprise a post of the enemy in front, on the waters of the 
Pacolet river. This post was a strong fort surrounded by 
abattis, built in the Cherokee war, and commanded by Cap- 
tain Patrick Moore. The Americans surrounded the post 
within musket-shot and gave the summons to surrender ; this 
was unheeded, but the second had the desired effect. Cap- 
tain Moore surrendered the garrison with one British sergeant- 
major, ninety-three loyalists, and two hundred and fifty stand 
of arms, loaded with ball and buckshot, and so arranged at 
the port-holes, that with a very little sagacity, they might have 
repulsed double the number of the American detachment. 
Shortly after this aff'air. Colonels Shelby and Clarke were 
detached, with six hundred mounted men, to watch the enemy 



168 GENERAL ISAAC SHELBY. 

and intercept, if possible, his foraging parties. Several at- 
tempts were made by a party of about twenty-five hundred, 
composed of British and tories, with a small squadron of 
British horse, commanded by Major Ferguson, an officer of 
some enterprise, to surprise Colonel Shelby, but the enemy 
was baffled. On the first of August, however, the Ameri- 
can commander had reached a place called Cedar Spring, 
where the advance of Major Ferguson, amounting to about 
six or seven hundred, came up, and a sharp conflict ensued for 
half an hour, when Ferguson approached with his whole 
force. The Americans then retreated, carrying off the field 
fifty prisoners, mostly British, including two officers. The 
enemy followed in quick pursuit for nearly five miles, in order 
to regain the prisoners ; but the American commander, by 
forming frequently on the most advantageous ground to give 
battle, so retarded the pursuit, that the prisoners were placed 
beyond their reach. The American loss was ten or twelve 
killed and wounded. Only a few days after this conflict, 
intelligence w*as received from General McDowell, that five 
or six hundred tories were encamped at Musgrove's Mill, on 
the south side of the Enoree, about forty miles distance, with 
orders to Colonels Shelby, Clarke and AMlliams, of South 
Carolina, with about seven hundred horsemen, to surprise and 
disperse them. The American commanders took up their 
line of march from Smith's Ford of Broad river, on the even- 
ino^ of the 18th of Auo;ust, continuino- throus^h the woods 
until dark, and then pursuing a road, leaving Ferguson's camp 
about three miles to the left. After riding; hard all nio^ht, 
frequently on a gallop, and just at the dawn of day, and about 
half a mile from the enemy's camp, they met a strong patrol 
party, with whom a short skirmish ensued, and several of 
them were killed. At that juncture, a countryman living 
just at hand, came up and informed Colonel Shelby, that the 



GENERAL ISAAC SHELBY. 169 

enemy had been reinforced the evening before with six hun- 
dred regular troops from New York, under Colonel Innes, 
destined to reinforce Ferguson's army. This intelligence, 
which was found to be correct, changed the movement of the 
troops, for, fatigued and exhausted as they were, it was deemed 
improper to march on and attack the enemy. They instantly 
determined to form a breastwork of old logs and brush, and 
make the best defence in their power. Captain Inman and a 
detachment of twenty-five men were sent out to meet the 
enemy, and skirmish with them as soon as they crossed the 
Enoree river. Captain Inman was ordered to fire upon them, 
and retreat according to discretion. This stratagem drew the 
enemy out in disorder, supposing the whole army was near. 
When they came within seventy yards, a most destructive fire 
commenced from the American riflemen, concealed behind the 
breastwork of logs. For an hour the American army kept 
possession of the slender breastwork, during which Colonel 
Innes was wounded, and all the British officers, except a 
subaltern, being previously killed or wounded, and Captain 
Hawzey, a noted tory leader, being shot down, the whole of 
the enemy's line made a precipitate retreat, closely pursued 
by the Americans, who beat them across the river. In this 
pursuit Captain Inman was killed, bravely fighting hand to 
hand. Colonel Shelby commanded the right wing. Colonel 
Clarke the left, and Colonel Williams the centre. In M'Call's 
History of Georgia, (the only w^ork in which this battle is 
related,) the British loss is stated to be sixty-three killed and 
one hundred and sixty wounded and taken; the American loss 
to be four killed and nine wounded. Amongst the killed was 
Captain Inman, and amongst the wounded, Colonel Clarke and 
Captain Clarke. The Americans mounted their horses, intend- 
ing to reach Ninety-six, a small British post, that night, but be- 
fore they had commenced their march, an express in great haste 
22 



170 GENERAL ISAAC SHELBY. 

arrived from General McDowell, apprising them of the de- 
feat of the grand American army under General Gates, near 
Camden, and advising them to be on the alert, as the enemy- 
would, no doubt, endeavor to improve their victory by destroy- 
ing all the small corps of the American army within their 
reach. Colonel Shelby disposed of his British prisoners by 
distributing them amongst the companies, so as to make one 
to every three men, who carried them alternately, directly 
towards the mountains, and commenced a rapid march all that 
day and night, and the next day until late in the evening, 
without even halting to refresh. Harassing as this long and 
rapid march must have been, it saved them, as they were 
pursued until late in the afternoon of the second day after the 
action, by a strong detachment from Ferguson's army. Fer- 
guson w^as so anxious and determined to recapture the pri- 
soners, and to check those daring' adventures of the moun- 
taineers, that, in order to intercept their march, he, with his 
main body, took post at a place called Gilbert Town, whence 
he sent messages, by paroled prisoners, to the officers west of 
the mountains, threatening the devastation of their country if 
they did not cease their opposition to the British government. 
This was the most critical period of the revolutionary war 
at the south. It appeared doubtful whether a force sufficient 
could be raised to prevent the entire devastation of that por- 
tion of the continent. Cornwallis and the main army were 
posted at Charlotte town, in North Carolina, and Ferguson, 
with three thousand at Gilbert Town ; w^iile many of the best 
friends of the American government, despairing of the eventual 
independence of America, sought protection under the British 
standard. At this season of gloom, Colonel Shelby proposed 
to Colonels Sevier and Campbell to raise a force from tlieir 
several counties, and to march hastily through the moun- 



GENERAL ISAAC SHELBY. 171 

tains, and attack and surprise Ferguson in the night. Accord- 
ingly they collected about one thousand strong, but when, on 
the 26th of September, they commenced their march, it was 
discovered that three men had deserted to the enemy. This 
disconcerted their first design, and induced them to turn to 
the left, gain his front, instead of his rear, as was first in- 
tended, and act as events might suggest. For days they 
traveled through mountains almost inaccessible to horsemen, 
but soon entered the level country, where they met Colo- 
nel Cleaveland with three hundred men, and with Colonels 
Williams, Lacy and others, who had heard of Cleaveland's 
advance. Three hundred more were thus added to the force 
of the mountaineers. They now considered themselves suffi- 
ciently strong to encounter Ferguson ; and by a council of 
officers it was agreed that Colonel Campbell, of the Virginia 
regiment, should be appointed to the command. They ac- 
cordingly selected the best horses and rifles, and at the dawn 
of day nine hundred and ten expert marksmen commenced 
their march. In their council, also, they determined that 
as Ferguson was their object, they M^ould not be diverted from 
the main point by any collection of tories in the vicinity of 
their march. 

For the first thirty-six hours they traveled, they alighted 
from their horses but once, and that only for one hour. 
They at last found Ferguson securely encamped on King's 
Mountain, which was about half a mile long, and from which 
he declared but the evening before that " God Almighty 
could not drive him." 

On approaching the mountain, the two centre columns dis- 
played to the right and left, formed a front, and commenced 
an attack ; while the right and left wings were marching to 
surround the enemy. In a few minutes the action was gene- 
ral and severe. It continued furiously for three-quarters of an 



n-i GENERAL ISAAC SHELBY. 

hour, when the enemy, being driven from the east to the west 
end of the mountain, surrendered at discretion. Fero-uson 
was killed, with three hundred and seventy-five of his officers 
and men, and seven hundred and thirty taken prisoners. The 
Americans had sixty killed and wounded; among the former 
Avas Colonel Williams. 

This glorious victory took place at the most gloomy period 
of the revolution, and may be styled the first link in the great 
chain of events at the south, which established the independ- 
ence of the United States. It was achieved by raw, undis- 
ciplined riflemen, who had no authority from the government 
under which they lived; who were without pay, rations, ammu- 
nition, or even the expectation of reward, other than that which 
resulted from the noble attempt to advance the independence of 
their beloved country. The tories were completely dispirited, 
and Cornwallis, who then lay within thirty miles of King's 
Mountain, became so alarmed that he ordered an immediate 
retreat to Winnesborough, sixty or eighty miles distant, where 
he remained for three months, until reinforced by General 
Leslie, with two thousand men from the Chesapeake. 

The legislature of North Carolina passed a vote of thanks 
to Colonel Shelby and his brother officers, and directed each 
to be presented with an elegant sword, for his patriotic con- 
duct in the attack and defeat of the British on King's Moun- 
tain, on the memorable 7th of October, 17S0. Colonel Shelby 
served the two following years under that distinguished par- 
tisan officer. General Marion. In 17S2, Colonel Shelby re- 
tired trom the army, and was appointed one of the commis- 
sioners to settle the pre-emption claims upon the Cumberland 
river, and to lay off" the lands allotted to the officers and sol- 
diers of the North Carolina line, south of where Nashville 
now stands. In 17S3, he returned to Boonsborough, Ken- 
tucky, and married Susanna, second daughter of Captain 



GENERAL ISAAC SHELBY. 173 

Hart, one of the first settlers of Kentucky, and one of the 
proprietors styled Henderson & Co., by their purchase of the 
country from the Cherokees. Colonel Shelby established 
himself on the first settlement and pre-emption granted in 
Kentucky, for the purpose of cultivating the soil ; and it is a 
remarkable fact, that at the period of his death, forty-three 
years after, he was the only individual in that state residing 
upon his own settlement and pre-emption. In 1812 he was 
chosen grovernor of the state in which he lived ; and durins: 
the trying crisis of 1813, at the request of the legislature, he 
organized a body of four thousand volunteers, which he led 
in person, at the age of sixty-three, under General Harrison, 
into Canada. His gallantry and patriotism at that ever me- 
morable victory on the Thames, were acknowledged by the 
commanding general, and by President Madison, and in reso- 
lutions by the legislature of Kentucky, which recognized " his 
plans and the execution of them as splendid realities, which 
exact our gratitude and that of his country, and justly entitle 
him to the applause of posterity." Congress also passed a 
vote of thanks, and awarded a gold medal {see Plate VH.), as 
a testimony of its sense of his illustrious services. 

In 1817, he was selected by President Monroe to fill the 
department of war, but his advanced *age induced him to 
decline the honor. In February, 1820, he was seized with a 
paralytic affection, which disabled his right arm and was the 
occasion of a lameness the remainder of his life. His mind 
continued unimpaired until his death by apoplexy, on the 
18th of July, 1826, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. He 
was fitted, by a vigorous constitution, to endure active and 
severe bodily exercise, and the energetic symmetry of his 
person rendered his deportment impressively dignified. His 
strong, natural sense was aided by close observation of mat- 
ters and things; and the valuable qualities of method and 
perseverance imparted success to all his efforts. 



174 GENERAL ISAAC SHELBY. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 



Occasion. — Battle of the Thames. 

Device. — Bust of General Shelby. 

Legend. — Governor Isaac Shelby. 

Reverse. — A representation of the battle of the Thames, 
in Canada ; Governor Shelby charging the enemy with his 
mounted rangers. 

Legend. — Battle of the Thames, October 5, 1S13. 

Exergue. — Resolution of Congress, April 4th, 1818. 



;\\r 







WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



William Henry Harrison was born at the seat of his 
father, at Berkely, on James river, twenty-five miles from 
Richmond, Virginia. His father, Benjamin Harrison, was a 
descendant of the celebrated leader of that name in the wars 
of Oliver Cromwell. He appears to have inherited republi- 
canism, for he acted a most conspicuous part in our own revo- 
lutionary struggle. He represented Virginia in Congress, in 
the years 1774, 1775 and 1776, and was chairman of the com- 
mittee of the whole house when the Declaration of Independ- 
ence was read, and was one of the signers of that act. In 
1782 he succeeded Governor Nelson in the executive chair of 
that state. William Henry Harrison, the subject of this me- 
moir, was educated at the college of Hampden Sydney, which 
he left at the age of seventeen, to obey the wishes of his 
father in the study of medicine, and for that purpose repaired 
to Philadelphia in 1791, that he might prosecute his studies 
with greater advantage. 

He had hardly commenced the study of his new profession 
when the death of his distinguished parent obliged him to 



176 willia:\i henry Harrison. 

return. After his return, and during the time appropriated for 
the settlement of his father's estate, the preparations for a cam- 
paitrn ao-ainst the Indians of the west caused much excitement, 
and Harrison resolved to enter the service of his government 
despite the most eloquent entreaties and persuasions of his 
sjuardian and friends. Nothing could check his enthusiastic 
ardor. He beoo-ed, he importimed, and "Washington at last 
yielded to his constant importunities, and presented liim with 
an ensions commission. AMth a heart beating with enthu- 
siasm, he departed for Fort Washington, no^- Cincinnati, where 
he arrived onlv in time to learn the unparalleled massacre of 
St. Clair's armv. and the deaths of several distinguished officers. 
The siirht of the broken troops had no eftect on the warlike zeal 
of vouno- Harrison. In the following year. General AVayne as- 
sumed the command, and appointed Ensign Harrison as one 
of his aids. 

The first time he had a chance to distinguish himself was 
in the engagement of Roche de Bouc, in the official report of 
which, his general did him the justice to name liim espe- 
cially. 

After the departure of General Wayne for the Atlantic 
States, in 1795, Harrison was left in command of Fort Wasli- 
inoton. Durino- the first year of his garrison life, he married 
the dauohter of Judge Symmes, the proprietor of the Miami 
purchase. But the active mind of Harrison could not be con- 
fined within the Malls of a garrison : he therefore resigned his 
commission, and obtained an appointment as secretary of the 
north-western territory. His able talents, exercised in that 
capacity, soon made him popular, and in 1799 he was elected 
the first deleoate in Congress for that extensive region, now 
comprisina: the states of Ohio. Indiana. Illinois, and the terri- 
tory of Michigan. The first object of his attention was a re- 
peal of the obnoxious land bill, which ordained, that not less 



WILl.IAM HENRY HARRISON. 177 

than four thousand acres could be sold at once. He became 
chairman of the committee on lands and framed a bill, which 
was carried with very little opposition. This bill lowered the 
number of acres to sections, half-sections, and quarter-sections, 
so as to enable the industrious husbandman to commence his 
labors ; also providing for the payment of the lands in such a 
way as to meet the exigences of the most frugal means. 

To this grand and important act of William Henry Harri- 
son, is imputed the rapid settlement of the whole of that ex- 
tensive region ; and had he only been permitted to live to see 
this noble act completed, he w^ould richly have merited the 
title of a benefactor to mankind. Shortly after, Indiana w^as 
erected into a separate territory, and Mr. Adams appointed 
Harrison the first governor. 

In 1801, Governor Harrison entered upon the duties of his 
new office, with powers never before conferred upon any other 
officer, either civil or military, that of commissioner to treat 
with the Indians. In this capacity he negotiated and concluded 
fifteen treaties, with their title to upwards of seventy millions 
of acres of land. Although he was surrounded by numerous 
tribes of warlike Indians, wiiose hostile feelings were con- 
stantly inflamed by the intrigues of British agents and traders, 
and often by the American hunters themselves, Harrison kept 
down Indian invasion in the territory, only by conciliation 
accompanied by firmness. His administration of justice was 
always tempered with mildness. In this way he surmounted 
difficulties which would have prostrated any ordinary capacity. 
The ability and success of the administration of Governor Har- 
rison are recorded in his voluminous correspondence with Mr. 
Jefferson from 1802 till 1809. 

During the year 1811, affairs approached a crisis which 
appeared to render hostilities unavoidable; and Governor 
Harrison found it necessary to apply to Colonel Boyd, of the 
23 



178 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 

4th United States regiment, tlien at Pittsbnrgh. who imme- 
diately joined him. Mith as large a force of militia as time 
permitted him to collect, together Mith a small but gallant 
baud of volunteers from Kentucky, numbering about seventy 
persons, ^^'ith these he marched towards the prophet's town, 
at Tippecanoe. His object was to bring about a negotiation 
with Tecumseh and his prophet brother, who for a long time 
had been harassing and plundering the inhabitants of that 
part of the countrv. On the Gth of November he arrived 
in sight of the Indian village, and commenced his attempts 
at negotiation with these ruthless savages. Finding, how- 
ever, that all his attempts were fruitless, he resolved to en- 
camp for the night, the chiefs having promised to listen to 
him on the day following. Governor Harrison was careful 
in selecting a spot for the encampment, in case of a sudden 
attack, which he anticipated. His anticipation proved too 
true; for on the morning of the 7th. before daylight, the onset 
of these blood-thirsty savages was announced by their hideous 
veils. The Indians fought with their usual desperation, and 
for some time were -s-ictorious ; but the extraordinary skill 
and courao-e of the American officers changed the tide against 
them, and they tied before their pursuers. Victory was pro- 
pitious, but at the expense of some of the most gallant spirits 
of the age. 

Colonels Davis and Owen, of Kentucky, and Captain Spen- 
cer, of Indiana, were among the slain. Governor Harrison re- 
ceived a bullet through his stock, but without injury. 

Governor Harrison still continued to negotiate with the In- 
dians, until the declaration of war against England, in 1S1*2. 
He then received a commission as a major-general in the army 
of the United States, embracing a larger sphere of action. At 
that period the greatest confusion prevailed. iVIoney, arms, and 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 179 

men must be raised, but who would assume the responsibility 
of procuring- them ? 

All the talents and energies of our hero were called into 
action. He organized his army, obtained money, arms, and 
ammunition, and on the 5th of October, 1813, he brought the 
British army, with their Indian allies under Tecumseh, to ac- 
tion, near the river Thames. The decisive victory achieved 
by militia over the disciplined troops of England, was a matter 
of joy and exultation through the whole Union. This gallant 
victory is attributed to the novel maneuver of General Har- 
rison, that of charging through the British lines with mounted 
infantry. For this important action. Congress presented a 
vote of thanks and a gold medal. {See Plate VHI.) 

General Harrison, having given the necessary aid to Niagara 
and the western frontier, left his troops at Sacket's Harbor 
under the command of Colonel Smith, and repaired to Wash- 
ington for the purpose of resigning his commission, in conse- 
quence of a misunderstanding between the Secretary of War 
and himself. The resignation was presented and accepted 
by Secretary Armstrong, much to the regret of the President, 
who w^as absent at the time ; on his return he remarked, in 
a letter to a friend, "that had he been in Washington, it 
should not have been accepted." General Harrison retired to 
his estate at North Bend, in Ohio. Thence he w^as suc- 
cessively called to represent the people of Ohio in the House 
of Representatives, and Senate of the United States, by which 
he w^as appointed minister to Colombia, till recalled by 
President Jackson. On his return to the United States, 
General Harrison again enjoyed the pursuits of agriculture in 
the bosom of his family at North Bend, until 1834, when he 
was appointed prothonotary of the court of Hamilton county. 
This office he punctually attended in person, until 1840, 



180 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 

when he was triumphantly elected to the presidency of the 
United States. He was inaugurated and entered upon the 
duties of his office on the 4th of March, 1841, and died on the 
following 4th of April. In their official announcement of 
the death of General Harrison, the members of his cabinet 
say, " that the people of the United States, overwhelmed, like 
ourselves, by an event so unexpected and so melancholy, will 
derive consolation from knowing that his death was calm and 
resigned, as his life had been patriotic, useful, and distin- 
guished, and that the last utterance of his lips expressed a fer- 
vent desire for the perpetuity of the constitution, and the pre- 
servation of its true principles." 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Battle of the Thames. 

Device. — Bust of General Harrison. 

Legend. — Major General William H. Harrison. 

Reverse. — A female placing a wreath round two bayonets 
fixed on muskets, and a color staff stacked, over a drum and 
a cannon, a bow and a quiver ; her right hand resting on a 
shield, bearing the stars and stripes of the United States, and 
holding a halbert. From the point of union of the stack, 
hangs a badge with the inscription. Fort Meigs, Battle of the 
Thames. 

Legend. — Resolution of Congress, April 4th, 1818. 

Exergue. — Battle of the Thames, Oct. 5th, 1813. 



LIEUT.-COLONEL CROGHAN. 



George Croghan was born at Locust Grove, near the falls 
of Ohio, on the 15th of November, 1791. His father, Major 
William Croghan, left Ireland at an early period of life ; v^^as 
appointed an officer in our revolutionary army, and dis- 
charged his duties to the satisfaction of the commander-in- 
chief His mother was the daughter of John Clark, Esq., of 
Virginia, a gentleman of worth and respectability, who ex- 
erted himself greatly, and contributed largely towards the 
support of our just and glorious contest. 

George Croghan received all the advantages of education 
which the best grammar-schools in Kentucky could afford. 
In his seventeenth year he entered the ancient college of 
William and Mary in Virginia. Both at school and at col- 
lege, he was remarked for an open manliness of character, for 
elevation of sentiment, and for strength of intellect, connected 
with a high and persevering ambition. In July, 1810, he 
graduated at William and Mary College, and soon afterwards 
entered the law school of that institution, where he remained 
until the fall of 1811, when he volunteered his services as a 



1S*2 LIEl'TEXANT-COLONEL CROGIIAX. 

private in the campaign up the Wabash. A short time before 
the action of Tippecanoe, lie was appointed aid-de-camp to 
General Boyd, the second in command ; and, although from 
his situation, he was not enabled to evince that actiWty which 
has since so much distinguished him, he exhibited a soul 
undaunted in one of the most sanguinary conflicts of that 
time, and accordingly received the thanks of the command- 
ing general. In consequence of his services on the Wabash 
expedition, he was appointed a captain in the provincial 
army, directed to be raised and organized in the spring of 
1812. In August he marched with the detachment from 
Kentucky, under General AVinchester, destined to reheve 
General Hull in Canada. During the movements of that 
gallant but unfortunate little army, the caution, zeal and mili- 
tary capacity of Captain Croghan were conspicuous. 

Upon visiting the various encampments of the army on its 
march along the Miami of the Lake, both before and after the 
attack on Fort "Wayne, the ground occupied by Captain 
Croghan was easily designated by the judicious fortifications 
erected for the night. On the movement of the army towards 
the Rapids, he was entrusted with the command of Fort Win- 
chester, at the junction of the Auglaize and Miami rivers, 
where he adopted his usual militaiy arrangements. After 
the defeat at the river Raisin, he joined General Harrison at 
the Rapids, previous to the erection of Fort Meigs. Gene- 
ral Harrison has often expressed the great confidence he had 
in the judicious arrangements of Captain Croghan, during 
the trying, brilliant and ever memorable siege of Fort Meigs. 

In the sortie under the gallant Colonel, now General Miller, 
on the 5th of May, the storming of the British batteries was 
confided to the companies led by Captains Croghan, Langhan 
and Bradford. These batteries were defended by a regular 
force and a body of Indians^ either of them superior in number 



LIEUTENANT-COLONEL CROGIIAN. 183 

to the assailants. Here Captain Croghan's gallantry was again 
noticed in general orders. At a critical period in the cam- 
paign of 1813, Captain Croghan was promoted to a majority, 
and appointed to the command of Fort Sandusky, at Lower 
Sandusky. 

On his conduct in the defence of that post, the official 
documents of the time, and the applause of a grateful country, 
are the most honorable commentary. The defence of the 
fort of Sandusky took place on the 4th of August, 1813, and 
although the work of a few hours, and of a small force, was 
an achievement brilliant in itself and important in its conse- 
quences. However diminutive it may appear, when com- 
pared with many of the military feats in the revolutionary 
war, it is justly entitled to a distinguished place in the annals 
of our country. It was among the first events of the last war 
that gave confidence to our soldiers, and compelled the enemy 
to respect our arms. It furnished, moreover, a memorable 
instance of what a few bold and determined spirits can per- 
form, when opposed even to more than fourfold their number. 
It is not too much to add, that, under Providence, it was 
highly instrumental in preserving from the tomahawk and 
the scalping-knife, many of our defenceless frontier inhabit- 
ants. 

The inclosure of Fort Sandusky, like that of most fortresses 
that are suddenly erected in our new settlements, was com- 
posed of picket-work, and surrounded by a ditch nine feet 
wide and six deep. The number of its defenders, under the 
command of Lieutenant-Colonel, then Major Croghan, amount- 
ed to about one hundred and sixty, most of them raw, unex- 
perienced troops. It contained but a single piece of mounted 
ordnance, and that only a six pounder. 

The assailing force consisted of nearly a thousand men, 
one-half of them British regulars, commanded by General 



184 LIEUTENANT-COLONEL CROGHAN. 

Proctor in person, and the remainder savages, led on, as we 
believe, by the celebrated Tecumseh. Their means of an- 
noyance, besides small arms, were five six pounders, and one 
howitzer of considerable calibre. The fort was regularly 
summoned to surrender, under the usual plea of a wish to 
prevent the effusion of blood. To give to this message the 
greater weight, the force of the assailants was somewhat ex- 
aggerated, and it was added that, should the works be carried 
by assault, it would be impossible to restrain the savages from 
massacre. Undismayed hy the odds that were against him, 
and the unsoldierly threat, that, should the enemy be success- 
ful, he would receive no quarter. Colonel Croghan unhesitat- 
ingly returned the customary answer, that he would defend 
his post "to the last extremity." 

This conference being ended, the British regulars, led on 
by Lieutenant-Colonel Short, an officer of high character and 
daring courage, advanced to the assault in a solid column, 
under the discharge of all their artillery. Notwithstanding a 
galling fire from the small arms of the fort, the assailants ap- 
proached with firmness and gallantry, till, following the ex- 
ample of their intrepid leader, a large portion of them had 
leapt into the ditch. At this moment, when the enemy were 
completely within the toil he had prepared for them, Major 
Croghan unmasked his piece of cannon, which had been 
hitherto concealed, and poured among them a discharge of 
grape-shot which raked the ditch with terrible carnage. In 
the number of those who fell under this first and most destruc- 
tive fire, was Lieutenant-Colonel Short. Another discharge 
or two from this piece of ordnance carried confusion into the 
British ranks, and forced them to retreat with the utmost pre- 
cipitation ; nor had they sufiicient hardihood to return the 
charge. Panic-struck by this disaster of their allies, the 
savages also fled in all directions, leaving our countrymen in 



LIEUTENANT-COLONEL CROGHAN. 185 

undisturbed possession of their well-defended fortress. The 
combined loss of the British and Indians in this affair, was 
computed at somewhat upwards of a hundred men ; that of 
the Americans was one man killed and seven slightly wounded. 
Such was the dismay created among the enemy by this 
signal and unexpected chastisement, that they precipitately 
abandoned their position, leaving behind them a large boat 
loaded with clothing and military stores. In consequence of 
the gallantry of this achievement, and the important effects of 
which it was productive, the brave Croghan, as yet but a 
major, besides being honorably mentioned in Congress, was 
promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. An affair of such 
brilliancy, achieved under such circumstances, could not fail 
to endear him to his country, and to exalt his name in the 
ranks of honor. Some years since Congress voted to Colonel 
Croghan a gold medal. [See Plate VIII.) 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Defence of Fort Sandusky, 2d August, 1813. 

Device. — Bust of Colonel Croghan. 

Legend. — Presented by Congress to Colonel George 
Croghan, 1835. 

Reverse. — The fort of Sandusky, with the enemy arrayed 
in front ; American flag flying on the tower ; columns of 
smoke from the fort, &c. 

Legend. — Pars magna fuit. 

Exergue. — Sandusky, 2d August, 1813. 



24 



PAUL JONES. 



John Paul Jones was born on the 6th of July, 1747, at 
Arbigland, in the parish of Kirkbean, Scotland. 

The residence of his father was near the shores of the Sol- 
way, one of the most beautiful and picturesque points of the 
Frith, where our young hero passed his hours of pastime in 
launching his "tiny bark" on the waters, and issuing to his 
supposed officers and crew his naval commands. At the age 
of twelve years, having made known his determination to lead 
a seafaring life, it was deemed proper to yield to it by his reluc- 
tant parents. Accordingly, he was apprenticed to a merchant 
at Whitehaven, on the opposite side of Solway Frith, in the 
American trade. 

He made his first voyage before he was thirteen, in the ship 
Friendship of Whitehaven, bound for the Rappahannock. His 
elder brother, William, had married and settled at Fredericks- 
burg, in Virginia, where Jones found a happy home during 
his stay in America. 

Although his first visit was of but short duration, he ap- 
pears to have become greatly prepossessed in favor of Ame- 



PAUL JONES. 187 

rica. These feelings he fostered under circumstances which 
made them keen and enduring, being so intimately connected 
with his first impressions of a naval life. His master, finding 
his affairs embarrassed, was induced to cancel the indentures 
of Jones, who now found himself at liberty to think and act 
as he pleased ; but his fixed determination was the sea. He 
fortunately obtained the appointment of third mate of the 
ship King George, of Whitehaven, a vessel engaged in the 
slave trade. After making one voyage, he shipped as chief 
mate on board the brigantine Two Friends, of Kingston, 
Jamaica, engaged in the same traffic. 

We have reason to believe that, after his second voyage 
in this brutalizing and unmanly traffic, he became disgusted 
and took a passage from the West Indies to Scotland in the 
John, of Kirkcudbright. 

The slave trade was then tolerated by Great Britain, and 
the cruel and infamous manner in which its unfortunate vic- 
tims were treated, evidently exercised a strong influence upon 
the mind of the inexperienced young seaman,^nd it probably 
tended, in after life, to make him inconsiderate of justice as 
well as regardless of the sufferings of others. Nevertheless, 
it is fair to infer, that the exhibition of these horrors, at which 
his feelings revolted, strengthened his love for that liberty for 
which he afterwards fought, and for that land which knew 
how to vindicate the cause of liberty. On the passage to 
Scotland, in the John, the master and mate both died of the 
yellow fever, and Jones took the command of the vessel, and 
brought her safely into port. For this service the owners 
placed him on board the same vessel as master and super- 
cargo. He then made two prosperous voyages to the West 
Indies, at the end of which, he was honorably discharged on 
account of the dissolution of the firm to which the vessel 



188 PAUL JONES. 

belonged. At this period the trade to the Isle of Man was 
principally contraband, and offered great facilities for making 
money. Our adventurous young hero, now in his twenty-third 
year, active, ambitious and self-confident, ready to steer his 
way through life as circumstances might serve, earnestly 
embarked in this trade, which, by a large portion of society 
was held not to be criminal, but simply illegal. After having 
been engaged in this trade for some time, in 1773 he was 
called to Virginia at the death of his brother William, who 
died without heirs. Jones took possession of the property, 
formally abandoned the sea, and declared his intention of de- 
voting himself to agriculture. This intention he really com- 
mence^ to carry into effect, but the quiet domestic life of the 
planter soon became irksome ; and when the American Revo- 
lution broke out, his liberty-loving, and chivalric soul could 
no longer bear the ignoble life of a farmer, and he eagerly 
embraced the cause of the rebellious provinces. He immedi- 
ately offered his services to Congress; they were accepted, 
and he received* a commission in the navy as lieutenant. 

No man appeared better qualified for the part he had to 
perform. Nature had made him a hero, and circumstances 
had prepared him to command men, as well as to give 
direction to the development of their energies; and these 
qualifications united with a brave heart and chivalrous spirit, 
rendered him able to vindicate the rights, which he knew so 
well how to assert. 

The American navy at this time consisted of the following 
vessels : 

Guns. Men. 

Alfred 30 300 

Columbus 28 300 

Andrew Doria 16 200 



PAUL JONES. 189 

Guns. Men. 

Cabot 14 200 

Providence .12 150 

Hornet 10 120 

Wasp 8 100 

Fly, dispatch vessel. 

Jones, who had been appointed lieutenant of the flag ship, 
Alfred, hoisted M^th his own hands the first American flag 
that ever w^aved over the ocean. He does not give the date of 
this transaction, but his commission dates 7th of December, 
1775. The device was a pine tree, with a rattlesnake coiled 
at its root in the act of striking. This was the national in- 
signia until 1777, when the present standard was adopted. 
On the 17th of February, 1776, the first American squad,ron 
sailed for the West Indies. During the passage they cap- 
tured two small vessels, and made preparations for the capture 
of the island of New Providence, where a large quantity of 
stores and ammunition was deposited. The enterprise suc- 
ceeded, the island was captured, the governor taken prisoner ; 
also a hundred cannon and a large quantity of stores and am- 
munition fell into their hands. 

In October, 1776, when the grade of naval captains was 
established by Congress, he received a full commission as one 
of the number. 

Having now acquired the entire confidence of the marine 
committee of Congress, he repaired to France to arrange 
some naval operations with the American commissioners. His 
next voyage was to Whitehaven, in the north of England, 
where, with a few men, he spiked all the cannon of two of 
the forts, the sentinels being first secured in their own guard- 
house. 

This and similar rapacious attacks, he justified upon the 
principle of retaliation for the destruction of private pro- 



190 PAUL JONES. 

perty by the British troops in America. Off Carrickfergus, 
on the southern coast of Scotland, he had an engagement 
with the British sloop of war Drake, which, after a severe and 
close action of an hour, he captured and carried in triumph 
into France. The day only before this action occurred 
the atrocious act at St. Mary's Isle. Thinking that the 
capture of the Earl of Selkirk, who resided at Selkirk Abbey, 
St. Mary's Isle, might enable Congress to obtain more equal 
terms in the exchange of prisoners, his object was to seize his 
lordship and detain him as prisoner on board the Ranger, 
until Congress could demand a suitable exchange. This, how- 
ever, was defeated by the absence of his lordship ; and the 
excuse which Jones gave for entering the Abbey and bringing 
away all the family plate, was, tiiat his men, remembering the 
scenes of devastation occasioned by the British in America, 
disregarded all restraints of wholesome discipline, and acted 
at their o^^•n discretion. Jones, in a communication from 
Brest to the countess, informed her that he should gratify 
himself by purchasing the plate and returning it uninjured, 
which he did, and received a formal acknowledgment from 
the earl upon the subject. In August, 1779, Jones first sailed 
in the Bon Homme Kichard, with six other vessels, forming a 
squadron under his command. 

In September, 1779, he fell in with the Serapis, off Flam- 
borough-head, on the northeast coast of England, where that 
. celebrated action took place, in view of hundreds of inhabit- 
ants of the neighboring coast, which has imparted so much 
renown to tlie name of Jones. The Serapis was a new ship, 
of forty-four guns and a picked crew. It was a clear, moon- 
light night, about seven o'olock, when the enemy first hailed 
Jones, who answered witli a whole broadside. The action, 
which lasted several hours, raged with incessant fury, until 
the enemy's bowsprit coming over the poop ot the Bou 



PAUL JONES. 191 

Homme Richard, by the mizenmast, Jones, with his own hand, 
seized the ropes from the enemy's bowsprit, and made them 
fast to his own ship. The Serapis swung round, so that the 
ships lay square alongside of each other, the stern of the 
enemy close to the bow of the Bon Homme Richard. In 
this desperate situation the conflict lasted for some hours, 
each fighting with a vigor that seemed to threaten mutual 
extermination. At length, about half past ten o'clock, the 
enemy struck his colors and surrendered. Both ships were 
much injured in the contest ; the Bon Homme Richard sunk 
the day after the battle. Her crew was transferred to the Sera- 
pis, and sailed for the Texel. 

On his arrival in France, Jones w^as received with the most 
flattering attention by the most distinguished persons in Paris. 
Louis the Sixteenth presented him with the cross of military 
merit, and a magnificent gold mounted sword, bearing this 
inscription: "Maris Ludovicus 16 Remunerator StrenuoVin- 
dici." He returned to America in the ship Ariel of twenty 
guns, after an absence of nearly three years. Congress imme- 
diately adopted the following resolutions : — 

" Resolved, — That the Congress entertain a high sense of 
the distinguished bravery and military conduct of John Paul 
Jones, Esq., captain in the navy of the United States, and 
particularly in his victory over the British frigate Serapis, on 
the coast of England, which was attended with circumstances 
so brilliant as to excite general applause and admiration. 

''Resolved, — That a gold medal {see Plate VHI.) be struck 
and presented to the Chevalier Paul Jones, in commemoration 
of the valor and brilliant services of that officer ; and that the 
Hon. Mr. Jefferson, minister plenipotentiary of the United 
States at the court of Versailles, have the same executed in 
France with proper devices." 

Late in the year of 1787 he returned to Europe in order to 



192 PAUL JONES. 

settle some disputes relative to certain prizes which had 
been sent into Denmark ; which, after much trouble, he ac- 
complished to the satisfaction of his government. After a 
year of ill health, he died at Paris, on the 18th of July, 
1792, aged forty-five years. President Washington designated 
him for the important mission to treat with the Dey of Algiers 
on the ransom of American captives. His credentials reached 
Paris the day after his death. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Capture of the English frigate Serapis, Cap- 
tain Pearson, by the Bon Homme Richard, Captain John 
Paul Jones. 

Device. — Head of John Paul Jones. 

Legend. — Joanni Paulo Jones classis prefecto comitia 
Americana. 

Reverse. — Two frigates engaged yard-arm and yard-arm ; 
the English ship severely battered in the sides. Another ship 
lying across the bow of the British frigate. 

Legend. — Hostium navibus captis aut frigatis. 

Exergue. — Ad nam ScoticP, 23d September, 1778. 



riatf.!^ 




i + 










Cti 




CAPT. THOMAS TllUXTUN. 



The subject of the following memoir, whose achievements 
shed a lustre on the infant navy of his country, was the son 
of an eminent English barrister of the state (then colony) of 
New York, and was born at Long Island, on the 7th of Feb- 
ruary, 1755. Our hero, in consequence of the death of his 
father, was placed under the guardianship of his intimate 
friend, John Troup, Esq., of Jamaica, on Long Island. In a 
short time, however, the kindling spark of that spirit, which 
has since shone so conspicuously in his character, led him to 
the sea. At the early age of twelve years, he embarked, on his 
trial voyage, in the ship Pitt, Captain Joseph Holmes, bound 
to Bristol, England. In the following year he was placed, at 
his own request, under the direction of Captain James Cham- 
bers, a celebrated commander in the London trade. During 
his apprenticeship, when the armament, in consequence of the 
dispute respecting the Falkland Islands, took place, he was im- 
pressed on board the Prudent, an English man-of-war of sixty- 
four guns ; but was afterwards released through the application 
of a person in authority. While on board the Prudent, the Cap- 
25 



194 CAPTAIN 'J-HO:\rAS 'I'RUXTUN. 

tain, })lcase(l with his iiitelhgeiice and activity, endeavored to 
prevail on him to remain in the service, and assured him that 
all his interest should be used for his promotion ; but notwith- 
standing the prospects thus opened to his youthful and aspiring- 
mind, he left the Prudent, and returned to his old ship. He 
conceived that his eno-ao^ements with his former commander 
would not permit him with honor to indulge his wishes. 
In the early part of 1775, he commanded a vessel, and suc- 
ceeded in bringing considerable quantities of powder into 
the United Colonies. About the close of the same year, 
when bound to St. Eustatius, he was seized off the Island of 
St. Christopher by tlie British frigate Argo, and detained 
until the general restraining bill came out, when his vessel 
and cargo, of which he owned the half, were condemned. But 
what "ill wind" can wreck the buoyant mind of the sailor? 
He made his way from St. Christopher's to St. Eustatius, and 
thence embarking in a small vessel, after a short passage, 
arrived in Philadeli)hia. At this period tlie two first private 
ships of war fitted out in the colonies, called the Congress 
and Chance, were equipping for sea, and he entered on board 
the former as lieutenant. They sailed in company early in 
the winter of 1776, and proceeded off the Havana, where 
they captured several valuable Jamaica ships, bound home 
through the Gulf of Florida. Of one of these he took the 
command, and brought her safe into New Bedford. In June, 
1777, in company with Isaac Sears, Esq., he fitted out, at 
New York, a vessel called the Independence. Of this he 
took the command, and passing through the Sound, (Lord 
Howe having arrived with the British ileet at Sandy Hook 
and blocked up that outlet,) he proceeded off the Azores, 
where, besides making several other prizes, he fell in with 
a part of the Windward Island convoy, and captured three 
large and valuahle ships. One of these was much supe- 
rior to tlio Independence in both guns and men. On his 



CArTAlN TIIO:\IAS TRUXTUN. 195 

return, he fitted out the ship Mars, mounting upwards of 
twenty guns, in which he sailed on a cruise in the EngUsh 
Channel Some of his prizes, which were numerous, he sent 
into Quiberon Bay. The success of this cruise was, in a great 
measure, the cause of Lord Stormont's remonstrance to the 
French court, against the admission into her ports of our armed 
vessels and the prizes which had been taken by them. 

He commanded, and in part owned, during the rest of the 
war, several of the most important armed vessels built in 
Philadelphia; and brought in from France and the West 
India Islands, large cargoes of those articles, which, during 
the Revolution, our army most greatly needed. While carry- 
ing out to France Thomas Barclay, Esq., our consul-general 
to that country, he had a very close and severe engagement 
with a British ship-of-war of thirty -two guns, (double his own 
force,) which he obliged to sheer off; and she was afterwards 
towed into New York by one of the king's ships, in a very 
dismantled condition. The ship under his command was 
called the St. James, and mounted twenty guns, with a crew 
of al)out one hundred men — not half tlie numhor on hoard 
his enemy. From this voyage he returned with the most 
valuable cargo brought into the United States during the war. 
It would be impossible, within the limits of this memoir, to 
recount the various instances of activity and zeal displayed 
by this gallant officer during our struggle for independence ; 
but in all his actions with British vessels of war, many of 
which were of force greatly superior to his own, he was inva- 
riably victorious. 

After the peace of 17S3, at the commencement of our naval 
establishment, he was one of the six captains selected by 
President Washington. The frigate Constellation, of thirty- 
six guns, which he was appointed to command, was bTiilt 
under his superintendence at Baltimore. She was the first 
of the required armament that put to sea. 



196 CAPTAIN TII03IAS TRUXTUN. 

Appointed, with a squadron under his command, to the 
protection of American commerce in the West Indies, Captain 
Truxtun had an arduous duty to perform, at a time when our 
navy was scarcely yet organized ; but every difficulty yielded 
to the excellence of that discipline for which he was ever 
celebrated. On this station, by his indefatigable vigilance, 
the property of our merchants was protected in the most 
effectual manner, and an enemy's privateer could scarcely 
look out of port without being captured. 

At noon, on the 9th of February, 1799, the Island of Nevis 
bearing AV. S. W., five leagues distant, the Constellation' 
being then alone, a large ship was seen to the southward, 
upon wdiich Captain Truxtun immediately bore down. On 
his hoisting the American ensign, the strange sail showed 
French colors and fired a gun to windward, (the signal of an 
enemy.) At a quarter past three o'clock, P. M., the captain 
was hailed by the French commander, and the Constellation, 
ranging along side of the enemy's frigate, who had declared her- 
self to be such by firing a gun to windward, poured in a close 
and extremely well-directed broadside. This was instantly 
returned by her antagonist, who, after a very warm engage- 
ment of an hour and a quarter, hauled down her colors, and 
proved to be L'Insurgente, of forty guns and four hundred 
and seventeen men ; twenty -nine of whom were killed and 
forty -four wounded. She was commanded by Captain Bar- 
reau, a distinguished officer, who did not strike his colors 
until his ship was a perfect wreck. The Constellation had 
only one man killed and two wounded. 

A stronger instance of the strict and exemplary discipline 
preserved on board the Constellation, cannot be given than 
this disparity of loss in the two ships ; and yet, during the 
whole time that Captain Truxtun commanded, but one man 
was chastised for disorderly conduct. Scarce a man in his 
crew had ever been in action before. The prize was taken 



CArTAIN THOMAS TRUXTIIN. ' 197 

into Basseterre, St. Christopher's, and after being refitted, 
added to the American navy. Tliis was the first opportunity 
that had offered to an American, frigate of engaging an enemy 
of superior force, and the gallantry displayed by Captain 
Truxtun was highly applauded, not only by his own country- 
men, but by foreigners. He received congratulatory addresses 
from all quarters, and the merchants of Lloyd's Coffee-house, 
London, sent him a present of plate, worth upwards of six 
hundred guineas, with the action between the frigates ele- 
gantly engraved on it. It is a relief to the horrors of war, 
to see those whom the collisions of their countries have placed 
in hostile array, treat each other, when the battle is over, with 
all the urbanity of accomplished cavaliers. Captain Barreau, 
in a letter to Captain Truxtun, of which the following is a 
translation, says, '' I am sorry that our two nations are at war, 
but since I unfortunately have been vanquished, I felicitate 
myself and crew upon being prisoners to you. Yoii have 
united all the qualities wdiich characterize a man of honor, 
courage, and humanity. Receive from me the most sincere 
thanks, and be assured, I shall make it a duty to publish to 
all my fellow-countrymen the generous conduct which you 
have observed towards us." The Constellation, in a short 
time, put to sea again ; and France saw the West Indies 
cleared of her bucaniers by our infant navy on the station. 
While the different ships belonging to it, were cruising sepa- 
rately, so as best to give protection to our merchant vessels, 
Captain Truxtun, hearing that La Vengeance, a large French 
national ship of fifty-four guns, with upwards of five hundred 
men, including several general officers and troops on board, 
was lying at Gaudaloupe, proceeded in January, 1800, off that 
port, determined, if possible, notwithstanding the superiority 
of her force, to bring her into action, should she put to sea. On 
the 1st of February, at half-past seven, A. M., in the road of 
Basseterre, Gaudaloupe, bearing E. five leagues distant, he 



198 CAPTAIN THOMAS TllUXTUN. 

discovered a sail in the S. E. standing to the westward, which 
soon proved to be the long-sought La Vengeance. 

The French commander, one would suppose, could have 
had no hesitation in engaging an enemy so inferior in guns 
and men as the Constellation ; but this did not prove to be 
the case, for he crowded all sail to avoid his foe, and it was not 
till after a most persevering chase for upwards of tw^elve hours 
that the Constellation brought him to action. 

The engagement began by a fire from the stern and quar- 
ter-deck guns of the French ship, wdiich was returned in a 
few minutes afterw^ards, by a broadside from the Constellation, 
that had by this time got upon the weather (piarter of her an- 
tagoriist, and a close and desperate action commenced, which 
lasted from 8 P. M., until within a few minutes of 1 A. M., 
when the fire of La Vengeance was completely silenced. At 
this moment, when the American commander considered him- 
self sure of his prize, and w^as endeavoring to secure his main- 
mast, which had been very much injured, he had the misfor- 
tune to see it go by the board. A heavj^ squall coming on at the 
same time, before the Constellation could be completely cleared 
of the wreck, the French ship was enabled to effect her escape. 
Indeed, so sudden was her disappearance in the squall, that 
she was supposed by all on board the Constellation to have 
sunk. Nevertheless, it appeared that five days after the action 
she got into Curracoa, in almost a shattered condition, having 
had one hundred and sixty men killed and wounded, and nearly 
all her masts and rigging shot away. 

It had required all hands at the pumps for several days, to 
keep her from foundering. 

Her captain had the candor to acknowledge that he had 
twice struck his colors, but owing to the darkness of the night, 
this was not perceived on board the Constellation, and he, 
finding that her fire continued, and concluding that it was the 
determination of his enemv to sink him, renewed the combat 



CAPTAIN THOMAS TRUXTUN. 199 

from necessity. When her mast went overboard, he took the 
advantage of the accident, and got off. In this engagement, 
the Constellation had fourteen men killed and twenty-five 
wounded. 

Among the former was Midshipman Jarvis, a young man 
of great promise, who commanded in the maintop. When 
told by one of the old seamen of the danger of the mast fall- 
ing, and requested, with his men, to come down, he replied 
that if it went, they must go with it. In a few minutes after 
it went over, and but one of the topmen was saved. For the 
signal gallantry displayed in this action. Congress passed the 
following resolution. 

" Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, 
That the President of the United States be requested to 
present to Captain Thomas Truxtun a gold medal {see Plate 
IX,) emblematical of the late action between the United 
States frigate Constellation, of thirty-eight guns, and the 
French ship-of-war La Vengeance, of fifty-four guns, in 
testimony of the high sense entertained by Congress of his 
gallantry and good conduct in the above engagement, wherein 
an example was exhibited by the captain, officers, sailors, and 
marines, honorable to the American name, and instructive to 
its rising navy."' Theodore Sedgwick, 

Speuher of the House of Eepresentatives. 

Thomas Jefferson, 

Vice President of the United States. 
John Adams, 
Jlpproved, March 29th, 1800. President of the United Stales. 

Captain Truxtun still continued to serve his country with 
all the ardor of his temperament, and devoted all the energies 
of his character to the promotion of her glory. In the begin- 
ning of 1802, he was ordered to take the command of a squad- 



200 CAPTAIN TIIO:\rAS TRUXTUN. 

roil destined for the Mediterranean ; lie immediately proceeded 
to Norfolk, where the frigate Chesapeake then was, and made 
every preparation for the duty assigned to him. 

It appears that it was customary in the navy for command- 
ing officers of squadrons, to have assigned to them during 
their command, an officer wlio, being entrusted with the charge 
of the flag ship, could relieve the commander-in-chief of this 
trust, and thereby enable him to have more leisure to devote 
to the important duties of his station. This additional officer 
was deemed necessary by Captain Truxtun, and claimed by 
him of the secretary of the navy. A correspondence ensued, 
the sequel of which was that Captain Truxtun wrote to the 
secretary, informing him that " the task for the intended ser- 
vice would be too severe without some aid, and if that aid 
could not be rendered, he must beg leave to quit the ser\ice," 
(meaning the intended service in the Mediterranean.) In the 
conclusion of his letter, after recommending some particular 
business to be attended to, he observes "if I do not proceed 
on the expedition." 

Contrary to his intentions and to his just expectations, 
Robert Smith, then secretary of the na^y under the adminis- 
tration of Thomas Jefferson, chose to construe this letter into 
a resignation of his commission as a captain in the navy ; and 
notwithstanding every honorable effort that was then made to 
restore him to his just rights, the administration of that day 
sacrificed at one blow the man who had shed such lustre upon 
the infant navy of our country, but who had the misfortune 
to belong to a different political school from those who then 
wielded the destinies of America. 

Thus at the early age of forty-seven years, in the prime of 
manhood, at a period when his former life gave promise of 
much future usefulness, after many years' devotion to the navy 
in which he fondly hoped to close his existence, was the sub- 
ject of this memoir suddenly cut short in that career in which 



CAPTAIN THOMAS TRUXTUN. 201 

he had won unfading laurels, both for his country and him- 
self. 

He immediately retired to his farm, and like another Cincin- 
natus, sought in the enjoyment of domestic happiness a solace 
to the injustice he had met in public life. For many years he 
continued a citizen of New Jersey, but towards the latter part 
of his life, he was induced by the claims of his family, to re- 
sume his residence in Philadelphia, where his fellow-citizens 
w^elcomed his return in the most grateful manner, and as an 
appreciation of his services, spontaneously tendered him the 
important office of high sheriff of the city and county of Phila- 
delphia, to which he was elected in the year 1816, by a very 
large majority. Soon after the expiration of his term of office 
in 1819, his health began to decline, until finally in May, 
1822, he closed his earthly pilgrimage. 

Commodore Truxtun has left several children, but neither 
of his sons now survives. The only grandchild bearing his 
name, is a midshipman in the navy. The same service also 
numbers three other grandsons, one of whom, Edward F. 
Beale, has recently proved, by his gallant conduct under Com- 
modore Stockton, that he inherits the blood of his illustrious 
grandsire. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Capture of the French frigate La Vengeance. 

Device. — Head of Captain Truxtun. 

Legend. — Patrise patris filio digno Thomce Truxtun. 

Reverse. — Two ships of war, the French a two decker ; 
both much shattered; the rigging of both much cut up. 

Legend.— The United States frigate Consellation, of thirty- 
eight guns, pursues, attacks, and vanquishes the French sliip 
La Vengeance, of fifty -four guns, 1st of Feb. 1800. 
26 



COM. EDWARD PREBLE. 



The subject of this memoir was born in the ancient town 
of Falmouth, now Portland. Maine. August 15th, 1761. He 
was the son of the Hon. Jedediah Preble, a member of the 
council and senate, who died in 17S3, at the advanced age 
of seventy-seven. 

Edward Preble exhibited from early childhood a firm and 
resolute temper, and a love for adventurous and chivalrous 
feats. While quite young he sho\^•ed a predilection for a sea- 
faring life, and although his father was much opposed to his 
choice, he thought it unwise to thwart him ; and therefore 
placed him on board a ship bound for Europe, in which he 
made his first voyage. In 1779 Preble became midshipman, 
in the state ship Protector, of twenty-six guns, under the com- 
mand of Captain AVilliams. 

The Protector, on her first cruise, had a sharp engagement 
with a British frigate of thirty-six guns, on the coast of New- 
foundland, and so disabled her that she was obliged to strike. 
She blew up in a few minutes afterwards. 

The second cruise of the Protector was less fortunate ; she 
was captured by a British frigate and slo'op-of-war. The prin- 



COMMODORE EDWARD PREBLE. 203 

cipal officers were taken to Engktnd, but young Preble, by 
the influence of his father, obtained his release. Captain 
Little, who was second in command in the Protector, and one 
of the prisoners taken to England, scaled the walls of his 
prison at Plymouth, and escaping with one other person, 
rowed in a wherry across the British Channel, and landed on 
the coast of France ; thence took passage for Boston ; and 
took the command of the sloop of war Winthrop, with Preble 
as his first lieutenant. 

Captain Little had previously captured the tender of a brig, 
of superior force to his own, lying in the Penobscot river, in 
Maine. From the crew he gained sufficient information to 
determine him to take her by surprise. Accordingly he ran 
along side in the night, having dressed forty of his men in 
white frocks, to distinguish them from the enemy. He was 
hailed by the brig, supposing him to be the tender, with " You 
will run us aboard!" "Ay!" shouted Preble, "I am comino- 
aboard !" and he immediately jumped into the vessel with 
fourteen of his men. The rapidity of the vessel was such, 
that it prevented the remainder from following them. Little 
cried out to his lieutenant to know if he would not have more 
men ; " No !" he answered with great coolness, (expecting to 
be overheard by the enemy,) "we have more than we want 
already; we stand in each other's way." Those of the Eng- 
lish crew on deck immediately leaped overboard, while others 
did so from the cabin windows, swimming for the shore, 
within pistol-shot. Preble then proceeded to the cabin, where 
he found the officers either in bed or just rising. He informed 
them they were his prisoners, that the brig was in his pos- 
session, and any resistance would be fatal. Supposing them- 
selves captured by a superior force, they submitted, without 
any effort to rescue the vessel. The captors conveyed their 
prize to Boston. Our hero was only in his twentieth year, 



204 COMMODORE EDWARD PREBLE. 

when this daring act took^lace, which gave striking indica- 
tions of the intrepidity and courage which afterwards so greatly 
distinguished him. 

Lieutenant Preble remained in the Winthrop the whole of 
the war. That vessel is acknowledged to have rendered 
much service to our trade, by destroying privateers infesting 
our eastern waters. 

In 1798, and the ensuing year, government had decided 
on building fifteen frigates and twelve other vessels of war. 
Preble was the first lieutenant appointed, and in the winter 
of 1798 and 1799, he made two cruises as commander of the 
brig Pickering. The next year, with a captain's commis- 
sion, he commanded the frigate Essex of thirty-six guns. 
In January, 1800, he was ordered to Batavia, in company 
with the frigate Congress, as a convoy to our homew^ard bound 
ships. The Congress was dismasted and obliged to return, 
while Preble took under his own convoy fourteen sail of mer- 
chantmen, valued at several millions of dollars. Soon after- 
wards he was appointed commander of the Adams, for the 
Mediterranean; but his health declining, he was compelled to 
withdraw from the profession until 1803. His government 
then made him commodore of the squadron fitted out against 
the Algerine pirates on the coast of Barbary. The brilliant 
career of this gallant officer, in negotiating with so much 
ability, not only redound to his own credit, but exalted 
the character of the American navy in the eyes of all the 
world. His fleet consisted of the Constitution, of which he 
was commander, also the frigate Philadelphia, and several 
smaller vessels. The memorable bombardment of Tripoli is 
familiar to all readers of history, having been so often re- 
corded by able historians. Congress voted the thanks of the 
nation, and an elegant gold medal, {See Plate IX,) which were 
both presented by the President, with the most emphatic ex- 



COMMODORE EDWARD PREBLE. 205 

pressions of esteem. On his leaving the squadron, the officers 
presented a most affectionate and interesting address, expres- 
sive of their devotion and attachment to him as their com- 
mander, and of his worth as a citizen and Christian. In the 
latter part of the year of 1806, Commodore Preble suffered 
severely from a debility of the digestive organs. Indulging a 
hope of recovery, he bore his sufferings with that fortitude 
which had marked his character through life, until the 25th 
of August, 1807, when he breathed his last. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — The attack on Tripoli. 

Device. — Bust of Commodore Preble. 

Legend. — Edwardo Preble, duci strenuo comitia Ameri- 
cana. 

Reverse. — The American fleet bombarding the town and 
forts of Tripoli. 

Legend. — Vindici commercii American!. 

Exergue. — Ante Tripoli, 1804. 



CAPT. ISAAC HULL. 



Isaac Hull was born at Derby, in the state of Connecticut, 
about ten miles distant from New Haven, in 1775. Choos- 
ing the sea for his profession, he entered, soon after leaving 
school, on board a merchant vessel, where he was employed 
during the interval which occurred between the peace of 
1783 and the breaking out of hostilities anew in 1798, when 
it became the policy of the United States to form a perma- 
nent marine. He was immediately appointed a lieutenant, 
without passing through the subordinate grades ; an irregu- 
larity of necessary occurrence, owing to the absence of any 
class of men educated in ships of war from which to make 
promotion. In May, 1800, he was first lieutenant of the 
frio-ate Constitution, under Commodore Talbot, and cut out a 
French letter of marque from one of the islands of St. Do- 
mingo with a small sloop. This gallant act took place at 
noon-day, without the loss of a single man. In 1804 he com- 
manded the brig Argus, and particularly distinguished him- 
self at the storming of Tripoli and the reduction of Derne. 
In 1812, he commanded the Constitution, and by his energy 



CAPTAIN ISAAC HULL. 207 

and skill as a seaman, he escaped from a British squadron 
under Commander Broke. That escape is faithfully described 
by Mr. Cooper in his Naval History, from which the following 
remarks are quoted. " Thus terminated a chase that has be- 
come historical in the American navy, for its length, closeness 
and activity. On the part of the English there were mani- 
fested much perseverance and seamanship, a ready imitation, 
and a strong desire to get along side of their enemy. But the 
glory of the aifair was carried off by the officers and people of 
the Constitution. 

"Throughout all the trying circumstances of this arduous 
struggle, this noble frigate, which had so lately been the sneers 
of the English critics, maintained the high character of a man 
of war. Even when pressed upon the hardest, nothing was 
hurried, confused, or slovenly, but the utmost steadiness, or- 
der, and discipline reigned in the ship. A cool, discreet, and 
gallant commander was nobly sustained by his officers, and 
there cannot be a doubt that had the enemy succeeded in get- 
ting any one of the frigates fairly under the fire of the Ameri- 
can ship, that she would have been very roughly treated. The 
escape itself is not so much a matter of admiration, as the 
manner in which it was effected. A little water was pumped, 
it is true ; and perhaps this was necessary, in order to put a 
vessel fresh from port on a level, in light winds and calms, 
with ships that had been cruising some time; but not an 
anchor was cut away, not a boat stove, not a gun lost. Thc' 
steady and man-of-war-like style in which the Constitution 
took in all her boats as occasions offered ; the order and 
rapidity with which she hedged, and the vigilant seamanship 
with w^hich she was braced up and eased off, extorted admi- 
ration from the more liberal of her pursuers. In this affair, 
the ship, no less than those who worked her, gained a high 
reputation, if not with the world generally, at least with those 



20S CAPTAIN ISAAC HVLL. 

who. perhaps, as seldom err in their nautical criticism as any 
people living." Xot long- after this aftair. Captain Hull met 
the British frigate Guerriere. and. to the surprise of the whole 
world, conquered her. Tliat fight was of more importance to 
America than all the subsequent victories, because it demon- 
strated that the notion of the British navy being invincible 
on the seas was incorrect. Commodore Hull was the man 
that showed that an American frigate was equal to a frigate of 
any other nation. The following is Mr. Cooper's description 
of that most important and eventful action : — 

" The Constitution next stood to the southward, and on the 
19th. at two P. M.. in lat. 41 deg. 41 min.. long, dd deg. 4S 
min.. a sail was made from the mast head, bearing E. S. E.. 
and to leeward, though the distance prevented her character 
from being discovered. The Constitution immediately made 
sail in chase, and at three, the stranger was ascertained to be 
a ship on the starboard tack, under easv canvas, and close 
hauled. Half an hour later, she was distinctlv made out to 
be a frio-ate. and no doubt was entertained of her beino- an 
enemy. The Constitution kept running free until she was 
within a league of the frigate to leeward, when she besan to 
shorten sail. By this time the enemy had lain his main top- 
sail aback, in waiting for the Constitution to come down, with 
everything ready to engage. Percei^-ing that the Englishman 
sought a combat. Captain Hull made his own preparations 
with greater deliberation. The Constitution consequently 
fiirled her topgallant sails, and stowed all her liohtstav sails 
and lling jib. Soon after, she took a second reef in the top- 
sails, hauled up the courses, sent down royal yards cleared for 
action, and beat to quarters. At five, the chase hoisted three 
English ensigns, and immediately after she opened her fire, 
at long gun shot, wearing several times to rake and prevent 
being raked. The Constitution occasionally yawed as she 



CAPTAIN ISAAC HULL. 209 

approached, to avoid being raked, and she fired a few guns as 
they bore, but her object was not to commence the action seri- 
ously until quite close. At six o'clock, the enemy bore up 
and ran off under his three topsails and jib, with the wind 
on his quarter. As this was an indication of a readiness to 
receive his antagonist, in a fair yard-arm fight, the Constitu- 
tion immediately set her main-top-gallant sail and foresail to 
get along side. At a little past six, the bow of the American 
frigate began to double on the quarter of the Englisli ship, 
when she opened with her forward guns, drawing slowly 
ahead with her greater way, both vessels keeping up a close 
and heavy fire, as their guns bore. 

" In about ten minutes, or just as the ships were fairly side 
by side, the mizzen-mast of the Englishman was shot away, 
when the American passed slowly ahead, keeping up a tre- 
mendous fire, and luffed short round on her bows, to prevent 
being raked. In executing this manoeuvre, the ship shot into 
the wind, got sternway, and fell foul of her antagonist. While 
in this situation, the cabin of the Constitution took fire from 
the close explosion of the forward guns of the enemy, who 
obtained a small, but momentary advantage from his position. 
The good conduct of Mr. Hoffman, who commanded in the 
cabin, soon repaired this accident, and a gun of the enemy's 
that had threatened further injury, was disabled. As the 
vessels touched, both parties prepared to board. The English 
turned all hands up from below, and mustered forward, with 
that object, while Mr. Morris the first lieutenant, with his own 
hands, endeavored to lash the ships together. Mr. Alwyn, the 
master, and Mr. Bush, the lieutenant of marines, were upon 
the taffrail of the Constitution to be ready to spring. Both 
sides now suffered by the closeness of the musketry; the En- 
glish much the most, however. Mr. Morris was shot through 
the body, the bullet fortunately missing his vitals. Mr. Alwyn 
27 



210 CAPTAIN ISAAC HULL. 

was wounded in the shoulder, and Mr. Bush fell dead by a 
bullet through the head. It being found impossible for either 
party to board, in the face of such a fire, and with the heavy 
sea that was on, the sails were filled, and just as the Constitu- 
tion shot ahead, the fore-mast of the enemy fell carrying down 
with it his main-mast, and leaving him wallowing in the trough 
of the sea, a helpless wreck. The Constitution now hauled 
aboard her tacks, ran off a short distance, secured her masts, 
and rove new rigging. At 7, she wore round, and taking a 
favorable position for raking, a jack that had been kept Hying 
on the stump of the mizzen-mast of the enemy was lowered. 
Mr. George Campbell Read, the third lieutenant, was sent on 
board the prize, and the boat soon returned with the report that 
the captured vessel was the Guerriere, thirty-eight guns, Cap- 
tain Dacres. one of the ships that had so lately chased the Con- 
stitution, off New York. The Constitution kept wearing to 
remain near her prize, and at two A. M., a strange sail was seen 
closing, when she cleared for action, but at three the stranger 
stood off. 

"At daylight the officer in charge hailed to say that the 
Guerriere had four feet water in her hold, and that there was 
danoer of her sinking. On receiving this information, Cap- 
tain Hull sent all the boats to remove the prisoners. Fortu- 
nately the weather was moderate, and by noon this duty was 
nearly ended. At three P. M., the prize crew was recalled, 
having set the wreck on tire, and in a quarter of an hour she 
blew up. Finding liimself filled with wounded prisoners, 
Captain Hull now returned to Boston, where he arrived on 
the 30th of the same month. It is not easy, at this distant 
day, to convev anv idea of the full force of the moral impres- 
sion created in this coinitry, by this victory of one frigate over 
another. 



(ArTALV ISAAC HULL. 211 

" So deep had been the effect produced on the public mind 
by the constant accounts of the successes of the English over 
their enemies at sea, that the opinions already mentioned of 
their invincibility on that element generally prevailed ; and it 
had been publicly predicted that, before the contest had con- 
tinued six months, British sloops of war would lie alongside 
of American frigates with comparative impunity. 

" Perhaps the only portion of even the American population 
that expected different results, was that which composed the 
little body of officers on whom the trial would fall, and they 
looked forward to the struggle with a manly resolution, rather 
than with a very confident hope. 

" But the termination of the combat just related, far exceeded 
the expectations of even the most sanguine. After making 
all proper allowance for the difference of force, which certainly 
existed in favor of the Constitution, as well as for the excuses 
that the defeated party freely offered to the world, men on both 
sides of the Atlantic, who were competent to form intelligent 
opinions on such subjects, saw the promise of many future 
successes in this. 

" The style in which the Constitution had been handled, the 
deliberate and yet earnest manner in which she had been car- 
ried into battle; the extraordinary execution that had been 
made in so short a time by her fire ; the readiness and gallantry 
with which she had cleared for the action, so soon after de- 
stroying one British frigate, in which was manifested a disposi- 
tion to meet another, united to produce a deep conviction of self- 
reliance, coolness, and skill, that was of infinitely more weight 
than the transient feeling which might result from any acci- 
dental triumph. In this combat the Constitution suffered a 
good deal in her rigging and sails, but very little in her hull. 
Her loss was seven killed and seven wounded. As soon as 



212 CAPTAIN ISAAC HULL. 

she had rove new riggmg, appUed the necessary stoppers, and 
bent a few sails, as has been seen, she was ready to engage 
another frigate. ' ' Since that time Captain Hull has commanded 
in the Pacific and Mediterranean, and at shore stations in the 
United States. He enjoyed the rank of captain in the United 
States naval service for thirty-seven years. " No act of Commo- 
dore HulFs hfe can be quoted as a drawback upon the immense 
debt of gratitude due him by his fellow-citizens. He did not, 
in the midst of the continued praise that followed him, yield 
to a single suggestion of wrong, nor presume, for a moment, 
upon the hold which he had on the affections of the nation. 
Every day of his life seemed to be spent as if he felt that day 
had its special duty, which, if unperformed, would leave in- 
complete his honors, and perhaps, tarnish the laurels he had 
already acquired. Hence, day by day, he earned new titles to 
public affection ; and as a man, a patriot, and an officer, he 
grew in the esteem of his fellow men. And the last day of 
his life saw his laurels as fresh as when they were first woven 
into a chaplet for his brow." He died at his residence in 
Philadelphia, 13th of February, 1843, in the sixty-eighth year 
of his age. By a resolution of Congress, it was unanimously 
agreed to present to Captain Isaac Hull, commander of the 
frigate Constitution, the thanks of that body and a gold medal 
{see Plate IX), for the capture of the British frigate Guer- 
riere, 19th of August, 1812. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Capture of the Guerriere. 

Device. — Bust of Captain Hull. t 

Legend. — Isaacus Hull peritos arte superate, July, 1812, 
Ang. certamine fortes. 



CAPTAIN ISAAC HULL. 213 

Reverse. — The battle between the Constitution and Guer- 
riere is represented in that particular and interesting stage, 
when the boarders from the Guerriere were repulsed, and a 
raking fire from the Constitution had cut away the main and 
foremasts of the Guerriere, which are falling, leaving the 
American ship little injured. 

Legend. — Horse momento victoria. 

Exergue. — Inter Const, nav Amer. et Guer. Angl. 



CAPTAIN JACOB JONES. 



Jacob Jones was the son of an independent and respectable 
farmer, near the village of Smyrna, in the county of Kent, 
in the state of Delaware, and was born in the year 1770. 
His mother, w^ho was an amiable and interesting w^oman, died 
when Jacob was two years old. Some time afterwards his 
father married a second time to a Miss Holt, granddaughter of 
the Hon. Ryves Holt, formerly Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court of Delaware, or, as it was then denominated, '' the lower 
counties on Delaware." Shortly after this second marriage 
his father died, when this, his only child, was scarcely four 
years of age. It w^as the happiness of our hero to be left 
under the care of a step-mother who possessed all the kind 
feelings of a natural parent. The affection which this ex- 
cellent woman had borne towards the father, was, on his death, 
transferred to his child. By her he was nurtured from infancy 
to manhood, with a truly maternal care and tenderness. At 
an early age he was placed at school, where his proficiency 
exceeded her most anxious expectations. He was soon trans- 
ferred to a grammar school at Lewes, in Sussex county, where 
he reEid the classics with much assiduity, and became well 



rialr.lo. 






CAPTAIN JACOB JONES. 215 

acquainted with the Latin and Greek languages. At the age 
of eighteen he left school and commenced the study of medi- 
cine at Dover, in the county of Kent, where he remained four 
years, after which he attended the usual courses of medical 
lectures of the University of Pennsylvania, and returned to 
Dover to commence the practice of his profession. He did 
not, however, continue long in the practice. Discouraged 
by the scanty employment that is commonly the lot of the 
young physician, and impatient of an inactive life, he deter- 
mined to abandon it for a more lucrative occupation. Go- 
vernor Clayton, who was a personal friend of his father, con- 
ferred upon him the clerkship of the Supreme Court of the 
State of Delaware, for the county of Kent. In this situation 
he remained some time, but the sedentary nature of its duties 
caused it to become irksome to him, and possessing a spirit 
of enterprise, and not content with the tranquil ease of com- 
mon life, he resolved upon a measure as indicative of the force 
of his character, as it was decisive of his future fortunes. This 
was to enter the navy of the United States. Jones, it appears, 
had weighed all the inconveniences and sacrifices incident to 
his determination, and had made up his mind to encounter 
and surmount them all. The only consolation to his friends 
was the reflection, that if courage, activity and hardihood 
could ensure naval success, Jacob Jones was peculiarly fitted 
for the life he had adopted ; and it is probable they felt some 
degree of admiration for that decision of character which, in 
the pursuit of what he conceived a laudable object, could 
enable him to make such large sacrifices of personal pride and 
convenience. Through the exertions of his friends, he ob- 
tained a midshipman's warrant and joined the frigate United 
States, Commodore Barry, from whom he derived great in- 
struction in the theory and practice of his profession, blended 
with the utmost kindness and civility. He was a midshipman 



216 CAPTAIN JACOB JONES. 

on board of the United States, when she bore to France Chief 
Justice Ellsworth and General Davie, as envoys extraordinary 
to the French Republic. He was next transferred to the 
Gantres, where he remained till the breaking out of the war 
with Tripoli, when he was stationed on board of the frigate 
Philadelphia, under the command of the gallant Bainbridge. 
The disaster A\'hich befel that ship and her crew before Tri- 
poli, forms a solemn page in our naval history ; atoned for, 
however, by the brilliant achievements to which it gave rise. 

Twenty months of severe captivity among a barbarous 
people, and in a noxious climate, neither broke the spirit nor 
impaired the constitution of our hero. Blest by nature with 
vigorous health and an invincible resolution, when relieved 
from bondage by the bravery of his countrymen, he returned 
home full of life and ardor. He was soon after promoted to a 
lieutenancv, which grade he merited before his confinement 
in Tripoli, but older warrant officers had stood in the way of 
his preferment. 

After being employed for some length of time on the 
Orleans station, he was appointed to the command of the brig 
Argus, stationed for the protection of our commerce on the 
southern maritime frontier. In this situation he acted with 
vioilance and fidelity, and conformed to his instructions, to 
the public inl crest and the entire satisfaction of his govern- 
ment. In ISll, Captain Jones was transferred to the com- 
maiul ol" the sloop oi' war Wasp, mounting eighteen twenty- 
foiu- poiuul carnniades. and was dispatched, hi the spring of 
181'2, with coiuiminicatious to the courts of St. Cloud and St. 
James. During this voyage, Axar \\-as declared by the United 
States against Great Britain. 

On his return. Captain Jones refitted his ship with all pos- 
sible dispatch, and repaired to sea on a cruise, in which he 
met with no other luck than the capture of an inconsiderable 



CAPTAIN JACOB JONES. 217 

prize. He again put to sea on the 13th of October, and on 
the 18th of the same month, after a long- and heavy gale, he 
fell in with a number of strongly armed merchantmen, under 
convoy of his Britannic majesty's sloop of war The Frolic, 
Captain Whinyates. 

As this engagement has been one of the most decidedly 
honorable to the American flag, from the superior force of the 
enemy, we vouch for the following account of it to be scrupu- 
lously correct : — " There was a heavy swell in the sea, and 
the weather was boisterous. The top-gallant yards of the 
Wasp were taken down, her topsails were close reefed, and 
she was prepared for action. About eleven o'clock A. M., 
the Frolic showed Spanish colors, and the Wasp immediately 
displayed the American ensign and pendant. At thirty-two 
minutes past eleven, the Wasp came down to windward on 
her larboard side, within about sixty yards and hailed. The 
enemy hauled down the Spanish colors, hoisted the British 
ensign, and opened a fire of cannon and musketry. This the 
Wasp instantly returned, and coming nearer to the enemy, the 
action became close and without intermission. In four or five 
minutes the main-topmast of the Wasp was shot away, and 
falling down with the main-topsail yard across the larboard fore 
and fore-topsail braces, rendered her head-yards unmanageable 
during the rest of the action. In two or three minutes more 
her gaft and mizzen top-gallant sail were shot away. Still she 
continued a close and constant fire. The sea was so rough 
that the muzzles of the Wasp's guns were frequently in the 
water. The Americans, therefore, fired as the ship's side was 
going down, so that their shot went either on the enemy's 
deck or below it, while the English fired as the vessel rose, 
and thus her balls chiefly touched the rigging, or were thrown 
away. The Wasp now shot ahead of the Frolic, raked her, 
and then resumed her position on her larboard bow. Her fire 
28 



218 CAPTAIN JACOB JONES. 

was now obviously attended with such success, and that of 
the Frolic so slackcuctl that Captain Jones did not wish to 
board her. lest the roughness of the sea might endanger both 
vessels ; but in the course of a few minutes more every brace 
of the Wasp was shot away, and her rigging so much torn 
to pieces that he was afraid that his masts, being unsupported, 
would go by the board and the Frolic be able to escape. He 
thought, therefore, the best chance of securing her was to 
board and decide tlie contest at once. A\'ith this view he wore 
ship, and running tlown upon the enemv, the vessels struck 
each other, the Wasp's side rubbing along the Frolic's bow 
so that her jib-boom came in between the main and mizzen 
rigging of the Wasp, directly over the heads of Captain Jones 
and the first lieutenant, .Mr. Biddle, who were at that moment 
standing together near the capstan. The Frolic lay so fair 
for raking, that they decided not to board until they had 
given a closing broadside. Whilst they were loading for 
this, so near were the two vessels, that the rammers of the 
Wasp were pushed against the Frolic's sides, and two of her 
guns went through the bow-ports of the Frolic, and swept 
the whole length of her deck. At this moment. Jack Lang,* 
a seaman of the ^^'asp, a gallant fellow, who had been once 
impressed by a British man-of-^^■ar, jumped on a gun with his 
cutlass, and Mas springing on board the Frolic. Captain 
Jones, wishing to tiro aoain bet'ore boarding, called him down, 
but his impetuosity could not be restrained, and he was already 
on tlie bowsprit ol' the Frolic ; when, seeing the ardor and 
enthusiasm of the Wasp's crew. Lieutenant Biddle mounted 
on the hammock-cloth to board. 

••At this signal, the crew followed, but Lieutenant Buldle's 

* .Tohn Lang \vas a native of New Brunswick, in New Jersey. This 
seaman is a proof that conspicuous bravery is contined to no rank in the 
naval service. 



CAPTAIN JACOB JONES. 219 

feet got entangled in the rigging of the enemy's bowsprit, 
and Midsiiipman Baker, in his ardor to get on board, laying 
hold of his coat, he fell back on the Wasp's deck. He sprang 
up, and as the next swell of the sea brought the Frolic nearer, 
he got on her bowsprit where Lang and another seaman were 
already. He passed them on the forecastle, and was surprised 
at not seeing a single man alive on the Frolic's deck, except 
the seaman at the wheel and three officers. The deck was 
slippery with blood and strewed with the bodies of the dead. 
As he w*ent forward, the Captain of the Frolic, with two other 
officers, who were standing on the quarter-deck, threw down 
their swords, with an inclination of their bodies, denoting 
that they had surrendered. At this moment the colors were 
still flying; Lieutenant Biddle, therefore, jumped into the 
rigging himself and hauled down the British ensign, and pos- 
session was taken of the Frolic in forty-three minutes after 
the first fire. She was in a shocking condition ; the birth- 
deck, particularly, was crowded with dead, wounded and 
dying ; there being but a small portion of the Frolic's crew 
who had escaped. 

'' Captain Jones instantly sent on board his surgeon's mate, 
and all the blankets of the Frolic were brought from her slop 
room for the comfort of the wounded. To increase this con- 
fusion, botli the Frolic's masts soon fell, covering the dead and 
everything on deck, and she lay a complete wreck. 

"It now appeared that the Frolic mounted sixteen thirty-two 
pound carronades, four twelve pounders on the maindeck, and 
two twelve pound carronades. 

" She was, therefore, superior to the Wasp, by exactly four 
twelve pounders. The number of men on board, as stated by 
the officers of the Frolic, was one hundred and ten; the num- 
ber of seamen on board the Wasp, was one hundred and two ; 
but it could not be ascertained, whether in this one hundred 
and ten, were included the marines and officers, for the Wasp 



220 CAPTALN JACOB JONES. 

had besides her one hundred and two men, officers and ma- 
rines, making the whole crew about one hundred and thirty- 
five. What is, however, decisive, as to their comparative 
force is, that the officers of the FroUc acknowledged that 
they had as many men as they knew w^hat to do with, and. in 
fact the Wasp could have spared fifteen men. There w^as, 
therefore, on the most favorable view, at least an equality of 
men, and an inequality of guns. The disparity of loss was 
much greater. The exact number of killed and wounded on 
board the Frolic, could not be precisely determined, but from 
the observation of our officers, and the declarations of those 
of the Frolic, the number could not have been less than about 
thirty killed, including two officers, and of the w^ounded be- 
tween forty and fifty, the captain and second lieutenant being 
of the number. The Wasp had five men killed and five 
slightly wounded. All hands were now^ employed in clearing 
the deck, burying the dead, and taking care of the w^ounded, 
when Captain Jones sent orders to Lieutenant Biddle to pro- 
ceed to Charleston, or any southern port of the United States ; 
and, as there was a suspicious sail to windward, the Wasp 
would continue her cruise. The ships then parted. The 
suspicious sail w^as now^ coming down very fast. At first it 
was supposed that she was one of the convoy, who had fled 
during the engagement, and who now came for the purpose of 
attacking the prize. The guns of the Frolic were therefore 
loaded, and the ship cleared for action ; but the enemy, as she 
advanced, proved to be a seventy-four, the Poictiers, Captain 
Beresford. She fired a shot over the Frolic, passed her, over- 
took the Wasp, the disabled state of whose riggmg prevented 
her from escaping; and then returned to the Frolic, who could, 
of course, make no resistance. The Wasp and Frolic were 
both carried into Bermuda." 

On the return of Captain Jones to the United States, he was 
everywhere received with the utmost demonstrations of grati- 



CAPTAIN JACOB JONES. 221 

tude and admiration. Brilliant fetes were given him in the 
cities through which he passed. The legislature of his na- 
tive state appointed a committee to wait on him with their 
thanks, and to express the "pride and pleasure" they felt in 
recoo^nizincr him as a native of their state : in the same re- 
solution they voted him an elegant piece of plate, embellished 
with appropriate designs. 

The Congress of the United States appropriated twenty-five 
thousand dollars, as a compensation to Captain Jones and his 
crew for the loss they sustained by the recapture of the Frolic. 
They also ordered a gold medal {^see Plate X. ) to be presented to 
the Captain, and a silver one to each of his officers. Various 
other marks of honor have been paid by the legislatures and 
citizens of different states, but the most substantial testimony 
of approbation which he received, was the appointment to the 
command of the frigate Macedonian, captured from the British. 

Since the peace with England, Captain Jones has been 
alternately employed on foreign or home stations ; he has now 
retired to his farm in his native state, to enjoy the evening of 
his days in tranquillity and peace. May they be as serene and 
happy as those of his early years were patriotic and brave ! 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Capture of the British sloop of war Frolic. 

Device. — Bust of Captain Jones. 

Legend. — Jacobus Jones, virtus in ardua tendit. 

Reverse. — Two ships closely engaged, the bowsprit of the 
Wasp between the mast of the Frolic ; men engaged on the 
bow of the Wasp while in the act of boarding the Frolic; the 
main-topmast of the Wasp shot away. 

Legend. — Victoriam hosti Majori celerrime rapuit. 

Exergue. — Inter Wasp nav. Ameri. et Frolic nav. Ang. 
die 18th Oct. 1812. 



CAPT. STEPHEN DECATUK. 



The subject of the following brief sketch was born in 
Worcester county, Maryland, on the 5tli of January, 1779. 
He was the son of Stephen Decatur, a naval officer from the 
first establishment of the American navy, until the difficul- 
ties with the French terminated, when he retired to Phila- 
delphia. He died, in 1808, honored and respected by all who 
knew him. His son, Stephen Decatur, Jun., entered the navy 
in 1798 as a midshipman in the frigate United States, then 
commanded by Commodore Barry. 

In 1801, he was promoted and sailed as lieutenant on board 
the Essex, in Commodore Dale's squadron, to the Mediterra- 
nean. 

At Malta, he had an unfortunate rencontre with a British 
officer, which caused his suspension, and he returned home. 
He demanded an investigation, which ended in his appoint- 
ment to the command of the Argus, destined to form part of 
Commodore Preble's squadron then lying before Tripoli. 

On his joining the squadron he was transferred to the com- 
mand of the Enterprise, and shortly after, captured a Tripoli- 



CAPTAIN STEPHEN DECATUR. 223 

tan ketch, within sight of the tower, which he afterwards 
named the Intrepid. A short time before the arrival of our 
hero, the frigate Philadelphia, which had run aground on the 
Barbary coast, had fallen into the hands of the Tripoli tans. 
His jealous ardor excited him to form some project by which 
she could be recaptured or destroyed. 

Having obtained the consent of his commodore, wdth seventy 
volunteers on board the ketch Intrepid, accompanied by the 
United States brig Syren, Lieutenant Stewart, he arrived 
about eight o'clock in the evening. The Philadelphia, lying 
w^ithin half gun-shot of the Bashaw's castle, and of the princi- 
pal battery, made the adventure extremely hazardous. About 
eleven o'clock, he approached within two hundred yards, when 
he was hailed, and ordered to anchor. He directed a Maltese 
pilot to answer that the anchor had been lost in a gale of wind. 
His object was not suspected till he was almost along side of 
the frigate, when the Turks were thrown into the utmost con- 
fusion. 

Before they were aware of the character of their visitors, 
Decatur had sprung on board, followed by Midshipman Charles 
Morris : these officers were nearly a minute on the deck before 
their companions joined them. Fortunately the surprise was 
so great that before the Turks could recover themselves, a 
sufficient number had assembled equal to their adversaries ; 
about twenty Turks were killed ; the rest jumped overboard 
or fled below. After setting fire to the ship in several places, 
Decatur and crew returned to the ketch. A favorable breeze 
sprung up soon and carried them beyond the reach of the 
enemy's guns, w^hich had opened a fire upon them from the 
batteries and castles, and two corsairs. In this daring exploit, 
not one man was killed, and only four wounded. For this 
gallant achievement, he was immediately promoted to the 
rank of post captain. Commodore Preble had determined 



224 CAPTAIN STEPHEN DECATUR. 

to make an attack on Tripoli ; and having obtained the loan of 
some gun-boats and bombards from the King of Naples, gave 
the command of one division of them to Captain Decatur. 
The signal to prepare for action was made from the Commo- 
dore's ship, the Constitution, on the morning of the 3d of 
August, and at nine o'clock the squadron began to bombard 
the town and the vessels in the harbor. Decatur advanced 
his gun-boats in a line to attack the Tripolitan gun-boats, 
which were moored along within musket-shot of the batte- 
ries. Disregarding the heavy fire from the batteries now 
pouring upon them, he, with twenty-seven men, boarded one of 
the enemy's gun-boats which contained forty-seven men, and 
in ten minutes its deck was cleared, and the boat made a prize. 
At this moment he was informed that his brother. Lieutenant 
James Decatur, who commanded another boat, had captured 
a gun-boat of the enemy, but had been treacherously shot by 
her commander, who had pushed off, and was then steering 
towards the harbor. Decatur instantly pursued him, entering 
the enemy's line with his single boat, and, overtaking the foe, 
boarded her with eleven men, being all the Americans he had 
left. He singled out the Turkish commander, who was 
armed with an espontoon or spear ; in attempting to strike off 
the head of which Avith his sword, the treacherous steel gave 
way and was broken at the hilt, and he received a severe 
wound in the right arm and breast ; upon which he seized the 
spear and closed with him. In the struggle both fell. Deca- 
tur, being uppermost, caught the arm of the Turk with his 
left hand, and with his right, seized a pistol which he had in 
his pocket, cocked it, fired through his pocket and killed him. 
During this struggle, a Tripolitan aimed a blow at the head 
of Decatur with a sabre ; an American seaman, although so 
severely wounded as to lose the use of both hands, rushed 
forward and received the blow on his own head, by which his 



CAPTAIN STEPHEN DECATUR. 225 

skull was fractured. The generous-hearted sailor survived, 
and his devotion to his commander was rewarded by his 
government. 

Captain Decatur secured both his prizes, and received from 
Commodore Preble the highest commendation for his bravery, 
who, on retiring from the squadron, gave him the command 
of the Constitution. 

On his return to America, he superintended the building 
of gunboats, until he was ordered to supersede Commodore 
Barron in the command of the Chesapeake frigate. He was 
afterwards removed to the frigate United States. On the 
25th of October, 1812, he fell in witli his Britannic majesty's 
ship Macedonian, one of the finest frigates in the British navy, 
which he captured after an action of an hour and a half His 
loss was four killed and seven wounded ; that of the Mace- 
donian thirty-six killed and sixty-eight wounded. When the 
commander of the Macedonian came on board of the United 
States and presented his sword, Decatur, with a chivalrous 
and delicate courtesy, declined taking it, observing that he 
could not think of taking the sword of an officer who had 
defended his ship so gallantly, but he should be happy to 
take him by the hand. The Macedonian was taken into the 
harbor of New York, where she was repaired and equipped 
as an American frigate ; and the name of her gallant victor 
was hailed with enthusiastic admiration throughout the coun- 
try. Congress presented to him a vote of thanks and a splen- 
did gold medal, {see Plate X,) while several of the state legis- 
latures and cities testified their high sense of his services by 
votes of thanks and valuable presents. In 1813 Commodore 
Decatur was ordered to sea with the United States, the Mace- 
donian and the Hornet, but being compelled to run into the 
mouth of the Thames in Connecticut, by a British squadron, 
he lay off New London for several months ; this becoming 
29 



226 CAPTAIN STEPHEN DECATUR. 

irksome, he sent a challenge to the commander of the block- 
ading squadron, offering to meet two British ships, with the 
United States and the Macedonian; but this invitation Sir 
Thomas M. Hardy politely declined. 

In 1815 he was appointed to the command of the frigate 
President, and in attempting to get to sea, came in contact 
with the Endymon, Tenedos and Pomona frigates, by which 
he was captured and carried into Bermuda. After the peace 
with England, Commodore Decatur was dispatched to the 
Mediterranean, to chastise the Algerines, who, instigated as 
was supposed by the British, had captured some of our mer- 
chantmen and enslaved their crews. He soon captured an 
Algerine frigate of forty-nine guns, after a short action (in 
which the celebrated Rais Hammida was killed), and a brig 
of twenty -two guns. He arrived before Algiers on the 22d of 
June, 1815, and the next day compelled the proud regency 
to a treaty most honorable to our country. He demanded that 
no tribute was ever to be required of the United States ; that 
all enslaved Americans were to be released without ransom, and 
that no American was ever to be held aojain as a slave. The 
relinquishment of the tribute was a point most difficult to ad- 
just. The Dey contended that it might be used as a precedent 
by other nations; "even a little powder,'' said he, "might 
prove satisfactory." " If," replied our hero, "you insist upon 
receiving powder as tribute, you must expect to receive balls 
with it." The next day the treaty was negotiated, with im- 
munities and privileges never before granted by a Barbary 
state to a Christian nation. Commodore Decatur thence pro- 
ceeded to Tunis and Tripoli, where, by similar diplomatism, 
he obtained the necessary redress, and returned home in the 
autumn of the same year. He was appointed one of the 
board of commissioners, and resided at Kalarama, near Wash- 
ington. In October, 1819, a correspondence commenced 



CAPTAIN STEPHEN DECATUR. 227 

between Commodore Barron, former commander of the Chesa- 
peake, and Commodore Decatur, in relation to harsh expres- 
sions said to have been used by the latter towards the former. 
Commodore Decatur denied having, at any time, made use of 
such expressions, but admitted at the same time, that he had 
not been particular to conceal his opinions, which were not 
very favorable to Commodore Barron. This controversy, 
w^hich lasted some months, could not be assuaged by the inter- 
ference of friends, but a challenge sent and accepted, named 
the day that was to send its victim bleeding to his grave. On 
the 20th of March, 1820, they repaired to Bladensburg. At 
the first fire both were wounded, Decatur mortally, Barron 
dangerously. 

Commodore Decatur died the same evening. In the enjoy- 
ment of his country's highest regard and confidence, he added 
his before unsullied name to the list of victims who died 
slaves to " an affair of honor." His remains were temporarily 
deposited in the family vault of Colonel Bomford, at Kalara- 
ma, where they remained until 1846, when they were re-in- 
terred with appropriate ceremonies in the churchyard of St. 
Peter's, in Philadelphia, and rest by the side of those of his 
father and family. 

The lid of the coffin was removed w^ien it was brought out 
of the vault at Washington, in the hope that the noble features 
of the dead hero were still perfect, but the friends who so 
anxiously sought this gratification, had to undergo a sad dis- 
appointment. Every lineament of the fine face w^as gone — 
nothing remained save the skeleton and a few remnants of the 
clothes. 

The original coffin is now enclosed in a new one of black 
walnut, a silver shield on the top of which bears the following 
touching inscription : — " Here lie the remains of Commodore 
Stephen Decatur, of the United States Navy, who departed 



228 CAPTAIN STEPHEN DECATUR. 

this life in the city of Washington, on the twentieth day 
of March, 1820, aged forty -two years. His public services 
are recorded in the annals of his country — his private virtues 
in the hearts of his friends — and above all, in her heart who 
was for fourteen years the happy partner of his life, and the 
delighted witness of his exalted worth ; and who can with 
truth inscribe upon this humble tablet, that he possessed every 
virtue of which the human character is susceptible, and each 
carried to its highest perfection. Columbia mourn ! For time, 
which soothes the grief of individuals, will only render you 
more sensible of the irreparable loss you have sustained." 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Capture of the British frigate Macedonian. 

Device. — A bust of Captain Decatur. 

Legend. — Stephanus Decatur Navarchus pugnis pluribus 
victor. 

Reverse. — Two ships engaged ; the topmasts of one shot 
away, the other with a few^ shot only in her sails. 

Legend. — Occidit signum hostile sidera surgunt. 

Exergue. — Liter sta. uni. nav. Amer. et Macedo. nav. Anjr. 
die 25th Octobris, 1812. 



COMMODORE BAINBRIDGE. 



William Bainbridge, of the American navy, was born at 
Princeton, New Jersey, on the 7th of May, 1774. He was 
the son of Dr. Absalom Bainbridge, a respectable physician 
of that town. His education was limited to the usual branches 
of an English school, with a pretty good knowledge of the 
French language. 

His first setting out in life was in a counting-house in New 
York. Thence he removed to Philadelphia, and was for 
some time employed as clerk in a mercantile house in that 
city. Some of his biographers say he was sent in some 
capacity to sea, by the house in which he was employed; 
others, that, tired of a mercantile life, he wished to try the sea. 
Be that as it may, he sailed ,as mate of the ship Hope, on a 
voyage to Holland, during which voyage he saved the life of 
his captain, who was seized by a mutinous crew with the in- 
tention of throwing him overboard. On his return home, he 
was offered the command of a merchant vessel in the Dutch 
trade which he accepted, being then but nineteen years of age. 
In this and other trading vessels he remained until 1798, when 



230 COMMODORE BAINBRIDGE. 

he entered the naval service of the United States as lieutenant. 
His first cruise in the American service, was to the West In- 
dies, in command of the schooner Retaliation, of fourteen guns, 
which unfortunately was captured by two French frigates 
and carried into Guadaloupe ; after remaining there a short 
time, he, with his vessel, was permitted to return to the United 
States. In 1799, he again sailed to the West Indies in the brig 
Norfolk, eighteen guns, with the commission of master com- 
mandant. During this cruise he was more fortunate, for he 
captured several merchant vessels, and a privateer, destroyed 
a number of barges, and compelled another privateer of six- 
teen guns to run ashore. He also gave protection to our mer- 
chants trading in those seas. In 1800, Banibridge was pro- 
moted to the rank of captain, and sailed in the frigate George 
Washington, with presents to the Dey of Algiers. On his arri- 
val there, he was anxiously solicited to convey an ambassador 
with presents from the Dey to the Grand Seignior, at Constan- 
tinople. To this he reluctantly consented, and the sight of an 
American frigate struck the wondering Turks with astonish- 
ment. They were unable to comprehend where this country, 
called the New World, was situated, but being pleased with a 
visit from such a stranger, they gave Captain Bainbridge a 
most cordial welcome, treating him with the greatest respect. 
The Algerine ambassador was, on the contrary, repelled with 
indignity by the pacha, his presents refused, and he not per- 
mitted to land, on account of the depredations on the com- 
merce of nations in amity with the Porte, committed by the 
Dey. 

Captain Bainbridge, accompanied by Dr. Clarke, the cele- 
brated traveler, and many other persons of distinction, pro- 
ceeded to the Black Sea in his long boat, where he had the 
honor of displaying " the star-spangled banner" for the first 
time. On his return to Constantinople, he gave a splendid 



COMMODORE BAINBRIDGE. 231 

entertainment on board his frigate, and beheld, among his 
distinguished guests, natives of the four quarters of the globe 
mino-led togrether at the same table. This visit to Constanti- 
nople opened the way to subsequent negotiations and friendly 
intercourse, besides leaving a favorable impression of the 
American character. On the return of Bainbridge to Algiers, 
he found that war had been declared against France, and that 
the French consul and citizens had been ordered to leave forth- 
with. To save them from captivity he received them all on 
board his ship, and landed them at Alicant, on his return to 
Philadelphia, where he arrived in April, 1801. In the follow- 
ing June, he was ordered again to the Mediterranean, to pro- 
tect our commerce against the Tripolitans. After remaining 
there a year, he returned in 1802; and in July, 1803, sailed 
to join the squadron under Commodore Preble. 

This voyage he sailed in the frigate Philadelphia, which 
had been built by the merchants of that city, and by them 
presented to the government. 

An able historian has described the loss of this beautiful 
ship in the following lines : " While Commodore Preble was 
engaged in negotiation, Captain Bainbridge proceeded to 
blockade Tripoli with the Philadelphia and Vixen. Being 
informed that a Tripolitan cruiser had escaped from the port, 
the Vixen was ordered to cruise off Cape Bon, in quest of her. 
After her departure, the Philadelphia was driven from her 
cruising ground by strong westerly gales ; but the wind com- 
ing round to the eastward, she was returning to her station, 
when a strange ship was discovered in shore, and running for 
the harbor of Tripoli. The Philadelphia gave chase, and 
when about four knots, she ran upon a reef of rocks which 
were unknown to our navigators in that sea. This unfortu- 
nate event occurred on tlie morning of the 31st of October. 
Every exertion was made to float the ship by throwing over- 



232 COMMODORE BAINBRIDGE. 

board the guns and anchors, starting the water, and cutting 
away the fore-mast, but to no purpose. The gun boats came 
out of the harbor and fired upon her, but so long as she kept 
an upright position, they were kept off by the few guns which 
could be brought to bear upon them. At length she turned 
upon her side, and could no longer be defended ; the magazine 
was drowned, every article of value was thrown overboard, 
the ship skuttled, the pumps choked, and all this being ac- 
complished, the colors were struck at five o'clock in the after- 
noon. The officers and crew were plundered of everything 
valuable on their persons, before they reached the shore, but 
were afterwards kindly treated by the pacha, until Decatur 
burnt the Philadelphia, after which they w^ere closely con- 
fined in the castle, through fear of their escape. On a treaty 
being concluded, by which the pacha was to receive sixty 
thousand dollars, they were liberated." From this period till 
the declaration of war in 1812, Captain Bainbridge was occa- 
sionally employed in the public service, either in the navy 
yards or at sea. 

At the commencement of the war. Captain Bainbridge was 
appointed to the command of the Constellation frigate; he 
was thence transferred to the Constitution, on the arrival of 
that ship at Boston, after the capture of the Guerriere. His 
destination was a cruise to the West Indies in company with 
the sloop-of-war Hornet, Captain Lawrence. Having parted 
with the Hornet on the coast of Brazil, he fell in with the 
Java, a British frigate of forty-nine guns, commanded by 
Captain Lambert, with a crew of more than four hundred 
men, and upwards of one hundred officers and men, intended 
for ships on the East India station, together with a lieutenant- 
general and suite of the British army. The ships were 
separated from each other about half a mile, when the action 
commenced, but they gradually approached each other until 



COMMODORE BAINBRIDGE. 233 

the jib boom of the Java came in contact with the mizzen rig- 
ging of the Constitution. The contest, which lasted nearly 
two hours, only terminated when the last spar of the Java had 
gone by the board. 

After the British frigate had struck, the Constitution wore 
and reefed top-sails. One of the only two remaining boats out 
of eight, was then hoisted out, and Lieutenant Parker, of the 
Constitution, was sent to take possession of the frigate. She 
proved to be his Britannic majesty's frigate Java, rating thirty- 
eight, but carrying forty-nine guns. She was manned by up- 
wards of four hundred men, and was commanded by Captain 
Lambert, a very distinguished naval officer, who was mortally 
wounded. The Constitution had nine men killed, and twenty- 
five wounded. The Java had sixty killed and one hundred 
and one wounded. But, by a letter written on board the Con- 
stitution, by one of the officers of the Java, and accidentally 
found, it is evident her loss must have been much greater. 
He states it to have been sixty killed, and one hundred and 
seventy wounded. 

The Java had her own full complement of men, and up- 
wards of one hundred supernumeraries, for British ships in the 
East Indies. Her force, in number of men, at the commence- 
ment of the action, was probably much greater than the offi- 
cers of the Constitution were enabled to ascertain. I Icr officers 
were extremely cautious about concealing the number of her 
crew. By her quarter-bill she had one man more stationed at 
each orun than the Constitution. 

The Java was an important ship. She was fitted out in the 
most complete manner to carry Lieutenant-General Hyslop 
and staff to Bombay, of which place he had been appointed 
o-overnor, and several naval officers for different vessels in the 
East Indies. She had dispatches for St. Helena, the Cape of 
Good Hope, and for every British settlement in the India and 
30 



& 



234 COMMODORE BAINBRIDGE. 

Chinese seas. She had copper on board for a seventy-four, 
and for two brigs, building at Bombay, and a number of other 
valuable articles. 

The great distance from the United States, and the disabled 
state of the Java, forebade the idea of attempting to bring 
her to the United States. No alternative was therefore left, 
but to burn her, which was done, after the prisoners and 
their property were removed to the Constitution. They were 
all landed at St. Salvador and paroUed. 

The commander of the Java, Captain Lambert, died soon 
after he was put on shore. Commodore Bainbridge was re- 
ceived by his countrymen, on his return to the United States, 
with every demonstration of joy and esteem that his gallant 
exploit merited. 

The Congress of the United States voted fifty thousand dol- 
lars, and their thanks to Commodore Bainbridge, his officers, 
and crew. They likewise ordered a gold medal {see Plate 
X.,) to be presented to him, and silver ones to each of his offi- 
cers, in token of their esteem. The citizens of Philadelphia 
presented him with an elegant piece of plate, and the common 
council of New York voted to him the freedom of their city, 
in a gold box ; and ordered that his portrait be obtained, and 
placed in the gallery of portraits belonging to the city. The 
Constitution now became an object of national pride, and hav- 
ing seen so much service, with so little injury, during her nu- 
merous encounters, that she acquired the popular sobriquet of 
" Old Ironsides.'' At the conclusion of the war, Commodore 
Bainbridge went again to the Mediterranean, in command of 
the Columbus, seventy-four, which was the last of his services 
at sea. He commanded for several years, at the different 
naval stations, till his health became infirm, when he retired 
to Philadelphia, and breathed his last on the 27th of July, 
1S33. 



COMMODORE BAINBRIDGE. 235 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Capture of the British frigate Java. 

Device. — A bust of Captain Bainbridge. 

Legend. — Gulielmus Bainbridge patria victisque laudatus. 

Reverse. — A ship with three stumps only of her masts 
standing ; the American ship with but a few shot holes in her 
sails. 

Legend. — Pugnando. 

Exergue. — Inter Const, nav. Ameri. et Java nav. Angl. 
29th December, 1812. 



OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 



The hero of the following memoir was born in Newport, 
Rhode Island, Auixiist, 1785. His father, who also was in 
the service of the United States, anxious that his son should 
lead a seafaring life, obtained for him a commission as mid- 
shipman on board of the sloop-of-war General Greene, in 
1798, at a time when our commercial difficulties with France 
caused much excitement. Perry soon after joined the squad- 
ron for the Mediterranean. 

He served during the Tripolitan war, and though debarred, 
by his extreme youth, from an opportunity of distinguishing 
himself, he acquired by his conduct the regard and esteem of 
his superior officers and the affection of his associates. Being 
at all times willing to be instructed, and most anxious to ex- 
cel, he became very early in life an accomplished officer and 
navigator. In 1810 he was commissioned as lieutenant com- 
mandant in the schooner Revenge, attached to the squadron 
of Commodore Rogers, on Long Island Sound, to prevent 
infractions of the embarofo laws. Durino- his command of 
this vessel, a circumstance occurred which first tried the cha- 



i'l.llc.ll 







X 



H|Hr 



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//■/ fl,m.,l,v. ..V 



OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 237 

racter of our young hero, though in the end it proved of advan- 
tafje to him. The Re venose was wrecked in a foo^ near Stoninor- 
ton, but by the intrepidity of Perry, the crew, guns, and much 
other property were saved. He immediately demanded a 
court of inquiry into his conduct, which acquitted him of all 
blame, and reported, that the preservation of so much property 
was owing solely to his coolness and energy. The Secretary 
of the Navy wrote a letter to Lieutenant Perry, compliment- 
ing his admirable conduct under such trying circumstances. 

In 1812 he was advanced to be master-commandant; and 
in 1813 he was appointed to the command of the squadron on 
Lake Erie. Early in August of that year, he crossed the 
bar with his squadron, and was soon on the deep waters of the 
lake. The enemy, who were nearly all the time in sight, did 
not molest him, although they were strictly watching his 
movements. More than once he cruised in sight of the enemy 
while at anchor, and offered battle ; but the challenge was not 
accepted. On the 10th of September, at sunrise, the Ameri- 
can squadron discovered the enemy making towards them. 
Perry's force was two twenty-gun brigs and several smaller 
vessels, carrying in all fifty-four guns, and manned with six 
hundred men. The British force was superior both in guns 
and men. About eleven o'clock, A. M., the British were 
formed in a line for battle, but the wind veering round. Perry 
bore down upon them as he chose. The commander of the 
Lawrence led, from whose mast-head were displayed the last 
words of the gallant Captain Lawrence, who fell in the action 
between the Chesapeake and Shannon, " Don't give up the 
ship !" An able historian thus relates the conduct of our 
hero during this most exciting battle : — " At a few minutes 
before twelve o'clock the British commenced their fire, and 
some damage was done to the Lawrence before Perry could 



238 OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 

make his guns to bear upon the enemy ; at length he open- 
ed his battery and stood the force of the enemy's fire for 
two hours. The other part of his fleet not coming to his 
assistance, and the Lawrence becoming unmanageable, her 
decks strewed with dead and her guns dismounted. Perry 
conceived a most bold and daring design, wdiich he put in 
execution. Giving the command of the Lawrence to Lieuten- 
ant Yarnall, he, with his flag under his arm, jumped into his 
boat, and amidst a shower of shot from the enemy, made his 
way to the Niagara, the second ship of his squadron. He 
went off" from the Lawrence standing up in his boat support- 
ing his flag, until his seamen seized him wath affectionate 
violence and pulled him down to a seat. His flag was soon 
seen flying from the mast-head of the Niagara, and in this 
moment of extreme peril our hero w^as as calm as he was ad- 
venturous. He soon brought his ship in a position to break 
the line of the enemy, giving two of their ships a raking fire 
with his starboard guns, pouring a broadside into a schooner 
from his larboard tier, and brought his ship alongside the 
British commodore. The effect of his terrific fire soon silenced 
the enemy's battery ; when bringing up the small American 
vessels, the contest was decided, having lasted nearly three 
hours. The enemy was not entirely subdued, but all his 
vessels were taken and brought to the American side of the 
lake. Commodore Barclay, commander of the British squad- 
ron, was a man of no ordinary fame ; he had gained laurels at 
the battle of Trafalgar and other memorable battles by sea, 
where Englishmen had bled and won the victory; but this 
day his experience did not avail him — he was forced to yield. 
The loss was great on both sides, but much more severe on 
the British. They had two hundred killed and wounded, the 
Americans about one hundred and twenty-three." 

Commodore Barclay lost his remaining hand in the fight : 



OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 239 

me other had been shot off in some previous battle. This 
victory has given Perry a permanent place in the history 
of his country, and his merit is greatly enhanced by the 
reflection, that, whilst no victory was ever more decidedly the 
result of the skill and valor of the commander, this was the 
first action of the kind he had ever seen. 

In testimony of his merit, Commodore Perry received the 
thanks of Congress and a medal, {see Plate XL,) and the like 
marks of honor from the senate of Pennsylvania. At the 
conclusion of the war Commodore Perry was appointed to the 
command of the Java, a frigate of the first class, and dis- 
patched with Commodore Decatur to the Mediterranean, to 
chastise the Dey of Algiers, who, during the war with Great 
Britain, had plundered our commerce, and taken several of our 
small vessels. Perry shortly after returned to the United 
States, and the Java was laid up at Newport, in the middle 
of winter. The following anecdote is related of him : — " Infor- 
mation was hastily brought to him that a merchant vessel was 
on a reef, about five or six miles from that place, and that the 
crew were still on the wreck, at the mercy of the winds and 
waves. He manned his barge and said to his rowers, ' Come, 
my boys, we are going to the relief of shipwrecked seamen, 
pull away.' They returned him a look of fearless determi- 
nation, which seemed to say, where you go, we will go. The 
vessel had gone to pieces, but eleven men were on her quarter- 
deck, which had separated from the hull of the vessel, and 
was floating as a raft on the billows. This act may not be 
thought to belong to the class of heroic deeds by some, who 
are attracted only by the blaze of military glory ; but the great 
mass of his countrymen declared that he was as deserving of 
the civic as of the naval crown." In 1819 Commodore Perry 
received the command of a squadron destined for the West 
India station, for the capture of pirates who swarmed on those 



240 OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 

seas. This was a most important command, and required the 
utmost vigilance and energy ; but he was not long to enjoy 
such an honorable post, for the yellow fever was raging in the 
squadron, and of this disease he died on the 23d of August, 
1820, in the thirty-fifth year of his age. 

The remains of Commodore Perry were brought to his 
native country and interred at Newport, w^here a handsome 
monument has been erected by an appropriation from the 
legislature of Rhode Island. Every tribute of national grief 
was paid to his memory in the United States. Congress made 
a liberal provision for his family, including his mother, who 
was leaning on him for support. Commodore Perry mamed 
early in life the accomplished daughter of Doctor Mason, of 
Newport, w^ho made him a devoted and affectionate wife. He 
was a man of splendid talents, blended with a kind and ten- 
der heart ; of superior tact in his profession, and every way 
fitted for the position Providence intended him to fill. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Victory on Lake Erie. 
Device. — A bust of Commodore Perry. 
Legend. — Olivervis H. Perry, princeps stagnoEriensi clas- 
sim totam contudit. 

Reverse. — A fleet closely engaged. 

Legend. — Viam invenit virtus aut facit. 

Exergue. — Liter class. Ameri. etBrit. Die 10th Sept. 1813. 



COMMODORE ELLIOTT. 



Jesse Duncan Elliott was born in Maryland, on the 14tli 
of July, 1780. His father, Robert Elliott, was unfortunately 
killed by the Indians in the year 1794, near the Muskingum 
river, while transacting business for the army of the United 
States. The following resolution w^as passed by Congress on 
this melancholy event. " Be it enacted," &c., "that the sum of 
two thousand dollars be allowed to the widow of Robert Elliott, 
who was killed by a party of hostile Indians while he was 
conducting the necessary supplies for the army commanded 
by Major-General Wayne, in the year 1794," &c. &c. Until 
the year 1804, Jesse Elliott was engaged in prosecuting his 
studies at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, when he was appointed a 
midshipman in the navy, and ordered on board the United 
States frigate Essex. The United States being then engaged 
in a war with the Barbary powers, the above-mentioned frigate 
was ordered to cruise in the Mediterranean. 

The little force that Congress was enabled to detach for that 
service — their limited meaife of annoyance — the treachery and 
ferocity of their barbarous antagonists, created a deep responsi- 
bility in the officers, and conspired to introduce a system of 
31 



242 COIMllODORE ELLIOTT. 

masculine intrepidity, severity of discipline, and promptitude 
of obedience, of which, even to the present hour, we reap the 
benefits. The treachery of our opponents taught our men to 
be ever on the alert, and their cruelty made them bold and reso- 
lute, even to rashness. Knowing how much was expected, and 
how scanty were their means, they supplied every deficiency 
by skill and courage. Contempt of danger was so rigidily en- 
forced, that when one of our subordinate officers showed symp- 
toms of fear in an engagement, and ^was tried by a court 
martial, the commodore assigned for his acquittal, a reason no 
less curious than just: viz., that the bare supposition that one 
coward existed on board of the American fleet was, of itself, 
a greater injury than the condemnation of this man could 
possibly be a benefit, as it would estahlish the fact. The British 
squadron in the Mediterranean minutely watched the move- 
ments of our little fleet for the purpose of sarcasm and jest. 
Their sarcasms were, however, soon converted into expressions 
of warm admiration. Amidst such a band of brave and 
kindred spirits, our young midshipman learned to smile at 
danger, Avhile he grew familiar Avith it, and felt his ideas ex- 
panded and enlarged. Returning to the United States, in 
Julv, 1807, he obtained a lieutenancy on board the frigate 
Chesapeake, where he remained until June, 1810, when he 
was appointed acting lieutenant on board the schooner Enter- 
prize, to cruise on the coast, and to enforce the embargo laws. 
In this service he remained till ISIO, when he was appointed 
to carry dispatches to our minister at the court of Great Britain. 
For a short time after his return, he served in the John Adams, 
from which he was transferred to the Argus, as first lieutenant. 
On the 5th of April, 1812, he married the daughter of Wil- 
liam Vaughan, Esquire, of Nor^lk, Virginia. He had no 
sooner entered that happy state, than he was obliged to relin- 
quish the sv.-eets of domestic life for the hardier scenes of bat- 



COMMODORE ELLIOTT. 243 

tie. War was declared against England, and he, with all 
speed, repaired to New York, to rejoin the vessel from which 
he had been furloughed, and to his mortification, found that 
she had already sailed. Commodore Chauncey, being on 
the eve of departing on a secret and novel expedition, to 
which he cordially assented, had applied to the proper de- 
partment to receive his instructions. Lieutenant Elliott was' 
immediately appointed to the command on Lake Erie, and 
received orders to repair thither, with all possible dispatch, 
purchase what private vessels he could, build two ships of 
twenty guns, and as early as possible have his fleet in readi- 
ness to meet that of the enemy. Lieutenant Elliott, aware of 
the importance of the command of the lakes in our war against 
Canada, and the difficulty and delay which would attend the 
building of the vessels, to say nothing of the expense, had 
purchased some vessels, but was much embarrassed with 
the difficulty in getting up the Niagara, and into the lake. 
After revolving in his mind all these obstacles, he formed 
the resolution of boarding and capturing two British brigs-of- 
war, called the Detroit and Caledonia, lying under the pro- 
tection of the batteries of Fort Erie. 

He accordingly embarked in two boats, with fifty men in 
each, and put off from the mouth of Buffalo creek, and at one 
o'clock in the morning came along side of the eneni}'. 

He boarded, and captured the two vessels, and secured all 
the prisoners in ten minutes. Unfortunately the wind was 
not strong^ enouo;-h to enable him to make head ao^ainst the ra- 
pid current in the lake. He was compelled to anchor opposite 
the enemy's forts, within four hundred and fifty yards of their 
batteries, exposed to a heavy and incessant fire of round, grape 
and canister shot, from a number of pieces of heav}'' ord- 
nance, and their flying artillery. 

The Caledonia was, however, beyond tJic reach of the 



244 COMMODORE ELLIOTT. 

enemy's guns, under one of the batteries at Black Rock. 
Lieutenant Elliott ordered all the guns of the Detroit to be 
mounted on one side, whence he kept up a constant fire against 
the enemy's batteries as long as his ammunition lasted. He 
determined then to drop down the river out of reach of 
their cannon, and make a stand against the flying artillery. 
"At this instant, he discovered, for the first time, that his pilot 
had deserted him. He, however, cut the cable, and falling 
astern, made good his way to Square Island. He sent the 
boarding boat ashore with the prisoners, himself and four 
others only remaining in the Detroit, directing the officer to 
return for him, and what property they might be able to save 
from the brig. 

The officer was unable to return on account of the rapidity 
of the current. At length, discovering a skiff" under the stern, 
he made for the shore in her w^ith the remaining part of the 
crew. 

During all this time, an incessant fire was kept up from both 
sides of the river, on the brig. 

She received twelve shots of large dimensions in her bends, 
her sails were reduced to ribbons, and her rigging cut to 
pieces. Finding all attempts to carry off" the Detroit were un- 
availing, he dismantled her of all her ordnance and stores, and 
set her on fire. The Caledonia was found to be a vessel belong- 
ing to the Northwest Company, loaded with peltry. Lieutenant 
Elliott's party consisted of one hundred men. He was fortu- 
nate enough to capture one hundred and thirty prisoners with 
their officers, and to release from captivity forty of his own 
countrymen, belonging to the fourth United States regiment. 
Lieutenant Elliott, on boarding, opposed three of the enemy 
with no other weapon than his cutlass. During the hottest of 
the fire from the batteries, a cannon shot passed through, and 
striking a large silver wedge deposited in a trunk belonging 



COMMODORE ELLIOTT. 245 

to one of the officers, bent it double. This wedge is still pre- 
served as a curiosity. As a proof of the gallantry displayed 
in this exploit, Congress presented to Lieutenant Elliott a 
splendid sword, with suitable emblems and devices, in testi- 
mony of the just sense entertained by that body, of his gal- 
lantry and brave conduct in boarding, and capturing the 
British brigs Detroit and Caledonia, while anchored under 
the protection of Fort Erie. 

Shortly after this brilliant exploit, Lieutenant Elliott joined 
Commodore Chauncey at Sacket's Harbor, and proceeded with 
six schooners, in quest of the enemy's fleet. The next day 
he fell in with the Royal George, and followed her into Kings- 
ton channel, where he engaged her and the batteries for an 
hour and three-quarters, and determined to board her in the 
night, but from adverse winds, the pilot refused to take 
charge of the vessels; and the commodore was reluctantly 
compelled to forego his determination. Lieutenant Elliott, 
shortly after, was promoted over thirty lieutenants to the 
rank of master-commandant, and having the command of 
the Madison in Commodore Chauncey's fleet, in the prepara- 
tion for the attack on York, Upper Canada, he discovered 
that the ships could not be brought into action from the 
shoalness of the water. He asked, and obtained the com- 
modore's permission to lead the small vessels employed in 
covering the troops while they were landing and attacking 
the batteries. The troops under General Dearborne, amount- 
ing to seventeen hundred men, were embarked on board Com- 
modore Chauncey's fleet, and arrived at York, while the 
squadron taking a position to the westward and southward of 
the fort, covered the debarkation of the troops. The rifle- 
men landed under a heavy fire, and seven hundred regulars, 
with one hundred Indians, marched to oppose the landing of 
the American army. General Pike, with seven hundred men, 



246 COMMODORE ELLIOTT. 

having effected a landing, routed the enemy, and pushed direct 
for the principal batteries. At this time the enemy blew up 
his magazine, and during the confusion precipitately retreated. 
Thirty-eight of our men were killed by this explosion, amongst 
whom we have to lament the gallant Pike, and tw^o hundred 
and thirty were wounded. The town surrendered by capitu- 
lation, and Captain Elliott was appointed by Commodore 
Chauncey to see that the articles were carried into execution 
on the part of the navy. 

In the beginning of August, 1813, Captain Elliott was 
directed to proceed to Lake Erie and take the command of 
the Niagara, under the orders of Commodore Perry. The 
battle of Lake Erie, which resulted in the capture of the 
entire fleet of the enemy, was fought on the 10th of Septem- 
ber following. Of the conduct of Captain Elliott on this 
occasion, it will suffice to state here, that Commodore Perry, 
in his official account of the battle, dated September 13th, 
said, " Of Captain Elliott, already so well known to the 
government, it would be almost superfluous to speak. In 
this action he evinced his characteristic bravery and judg- 
ment, and since the close of the action has given me the most 
able and essential assistance." 

Let the highest authority known to our laws speak for 
themselves, on this occasion. Congress passed the following 
resolution: — "Resolved, That the President of the United 
States be requested to cause gold medals to be struck, em- 
blematic of the action between the two squadrons, and to be 
presented to Captain Perry and to Captain Jesse Elliott, in 
such manner most agreeable to them," &c. {See Plate XI.) 

In October following. Commodore Perry left the lake ser- 
vice, and Captain EUiott succeeded him in the command of 
the naval forces on Lake Erie. On this station he did not 
remain long, but at his own request, he obtained the com- 



COMMODORE ELLIOTT. 247 

mand of the sloop-of-war Ontario. Peace with Great Britain 
being proclaimed, Captain ElHott, in the Ontario, joined the 
squadron which sailed in the spring of 1815 to the Mediter- 
ranean to exact reparation from the Barbary powers for inju- 
ries to our commerce. This service being performed, he 
returned to his own country and remained with his own fami- 
ly until 1817. From that time until 1824 he was employed as 
one of the commissioners to examine the coast of the United 
States. From 1825 to 1827, with a promotion to captain in 
the navy, he commanded the United States ship Cyane, cruis- 
ing on the coasts of Brazil and Buenos Ayres, to protect our 
commerce in that quarter. Captain Elliott's next appointment 
in 1829, was to the command of the squadron on the West 
India station, consisting, besides the Peacock, of five sloops- 
of-war and two schooners. On this station he remained three 
years. In 1833 he was appointed to the charge of the navy 
yard at Charlestown, Massachusetts. In 1835 he sailed for 
the Mediterranean to take command of the squadron, there ; 
and during the several years spent in that service, he visited 
some of the most interesting parts of the world, of Italy, Greece, 
Constantinople, Palestine, Egypt, &c. &c., at the same time 
making collections of such objects of curiosity as would add 
to the interest of our institutions. After several years' absence 
from the United States, he returned, and in November, 1844, 
was appointed to the command of the Philadelphia navy yard. 
His health soon after began to decline, and he died on the 10th 
of December, 1845. Commodore Elliott was a strict disci- 
plinarian, yet his personal friends can bear unequivocal testi- 
mony to the amiability of his deportment in his intercourse 
through life. The excellence of his private character was 
never called in question. His correspondence at different 
times with the functionaries of foreign governments, was 
highly creditable to him. He possessed much useful know- 



248 COMMODORE ELLIOTT. 

ledge, the result as well of his o^mi observation as of his read- 
ing. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

To Captain Jesse Duncan Elliott, of Baltimore, second in 
command, for gallantry in the action on Lake Erie. Decreed 
January 6th, 1814. 

Occasion. — Victory on Lake Erie. 

Device. — Bust of Captain Elliott. 

Legend. — Jesse D. Elliott, nil actum reputans si quid 
supresset agendum. 

Reverse. — A fleet engaged. 

Legend. — Viam invenit virtus aut facit. 

Exergue. — Inter class Ameri. et Brit. Die 10th Sept., 
1813. 



LIEUT. WILLIAM BURROWS. 



William Burrows was born at Kenderton, near Philadel- 
phia, on the 6th of October, 1785. His father was wealthy, 
and not wishing to confine the genius of his son to any par- 
ticular pursuit, apprehending that his wealth was amply suffi- 
cient to the support of his son in the style and character of a 
gentleman, he was accordingly left principally to his own 
guidance, dallying with books as he would with toys, regard- 
ing them rather as matters of amusement than as objects of 
serious concern. 

Knowing how essential to the character of a gentleman it 
was to become familiar with the living lana-uages, his father 
warmly exhorted him to turn his attention to them ; in this he 
but partially succeeded. To the French language he betrayed 
an insurmountable reluctance. In the acquisition of German, 
Burrows was more successful, and at the age of thirteen years 
he could converse in that language with great fluency. This 
may be considered as the broad outline of his early years, as 
far as regards those pursuits which often have an important 
bearing in the formation of the future character of the man. 
32 



250 LIEUTENANT WILLIAM BURROWS. 

Ill a boy so amiable, so retiring and reserved, little did his 
parents dream that the flame of ambition had ignited that 
bosom, and was burning strong and intense. This passion, 
which he had guarded with such scrupulous and jealous care, 
was discovered by his father by an incident which afforded 
an outlet to those passions which had so long occupied his 
musing and solitary hours. He was receiving instructions in 
drawing, but none seemed to arrest the attention of Burrows 
but the delineation of a ship of w'ar. With astonishment and 
regret his father discovered the cause of his contemplations in 
retirement, and that indifference which he discovered to his 
allotted studies and pursuits. He labored to give his ambition 
another turn, but so deeply rooted was his passion for ocean 
chivalry, that his efforts w^ere unavailing ; he, therefore, found 
it best to lend his aid tow^ards the gratification of a passion he 
was incapable of repressing, and accordingly seconded his ap- 
plication to the Secretary of the Navy for an appointment, and 
Burrows w^as appointed a midshipman in November, 1799. 
He now devoted his hours to the study of navigation, but the 
requisite proficiency could not be made in so short a time, for 
in January, 1800, he received orders to repair on board the 
sloop-of-war Portsmouth, Captain McNeil, bound to France. 

The Portsmouth did not return to the United States for 
nearly a year. Burrows now^ became sensible of the neces- 
sity of becoming better acquainted with his preparatory 
studies, and obtained a furlough for the purpose of applying 
himself to the science of navigation with renewed ardor. 
From 1800 to 1803, he served on board different ships of war, 
in cruises, some of a longer and some of a shorter date, unim- 
portant as far as regards the glory of the navy. This was, not- 
withstanding, a necessary school, which prepared him for more 
important services. 

In the year 1803 he was transferred to the frigate Consti- 



. LIEUTENANT WILLIAM BURROWS. 251 

tution, bound to the Mediterranean, commanded by Commo- 
dore Preble. This officer, famous for his sagacity in the 
discernment of character, soon discovered in our young 
midshipman, under a cold and repelling exterior, a character 
of noble and intrepid daring, waiting only a proper season 
to burst forth in all its resplendence. Under these impres- 
sions. Burrows was appointed an acting lieutenant, in which 
character he served during the war with Tripoli. In 1807, 
Lieutenant Burrows returned from the Mediterranean, and in 
the following year he was attached to the Philadelphia station, 
and employed in the bay and river Delaware, as commander 
of gun-boat No. 119. It became then his duty to enforce a 
rigid observance of the embargo law. In a service at once so 
delicate and invidious, he exhibited traits of character by 
which he was enabled to make a painful duty an amusement. 
The inhabitants found, while the laws of the Union w^ere 
enforced, that this was done from higher and more honorable 
motives than personal hostility towards them. His moments 
of relaxation from duty were sedulously devoted to the ac- 
quisition of their confidence and good-will, and to render the 
obhgations imposed upon him, by duty, less painful, irritating 
and severe. Alternately preventing the least infractions of the 
law, and then becoming, at their tables, a hospitable guest, he 
was enabled to conciliate the esteem, while he rigidly enforced 
the duties of his office. In 1809 he joined the President 
under Captain Bainbridge. From this ship he was transferred 
to the sloop-of-war Hornet, as first lieutenant, under Captain 
Hunt. In a dangerous and heavy gale, his brother officers 
have reported that, by his superior skill and intrepidity as an 
officer, the ship and the crew were both preserved from what 
they deemed inevitable destruction. In 1812 he found his 
circumstances were embarrassed, and that it was indispensa- 
ble to extricate himself in the best possible v/ay. He accord- 



262 LIEUTENANT WILLIAM BURROWS. 

« 

ingly applied for a furlough, which was granted, and he went 
on board the merchant-ship, Thomas Penrose, from Philadel- 
phia, bound to Canton, under the command of Captain Ansley. 
On Ibo return passage the ship was captured and carried into 
Barbadoes ; Lieutenant Burrows arrived in the United States 
in June, 1813. 

Soon after his return, Lieutenant Burrows took the com- 
mand of the United States sloop-of-war Enterprise, and left 
the harbor of Portsmouth, New^ Hampshire, on the 5th of 
September. On the following day he fell in with his Bri- 
tannic majesty's brig Boxer, mounting sixteen eighteen pound 
carronades and two long nine pounders. The Boxer fired a 
shot as a challenge, hoisted English colors, and immediately 
bore down upon the Enterprise. The American vessel was 
now employed in tacking and making preparations for action. 
Having obtained the weather-gage, she manoeuvred for some 
time to try her sailing, and to ascertain the force of her an- 
tagonist. At length she shortened sail, hoisted three ensigns, 
and fired three shot in answer to the challensfe. The action 
now grew^ warm ; the Boxer bore within half-pistol shot of 
the Enterprise, and, giving three cheers, fired her starboard 
broadside. She was answered by three cheers and a larboard 
broadside from the Enterprise, and the action became general. 

The Enterprise, having the advantage of the wind, ranged 
ahead of her enemy, rounded to on the larboard tack, and 
commenced a raking broadside. The enemy's main-topsail 
and topsail yards came down, and the Enterprise, taking a 
position on the starboard bow of the Boxer, and opening a 
raking fire, compelled the enemy to cry for quarter. Their 
colors were nailed to the mast and could not be hauled down. 
This action lasted for forty-five minutes, during which time 
the Boxer received much damage in sails, rigging, spars and 
hull. The Enterprise had but one eighteen pound shot in her 



LIEUTENANT WILLIAM BURROWS. 253 

hull, one in her main-mast, and one in her fore-mast. Her 
sails were much cut with grape shot, and a great number of 
grape were lodged in her side. The Boxer had twenty 
eighteen pound shot in her hull, most of them at the water's 
edge, with several stands of eighteen pound grape in her side. 
Lieutenant M'Call states our loss to have been four killed, and 
ten wounded. 

The number killed on board the Boxer is uncertain. The 
same officer states, from the best information which he was 
able to procure, that there were, of the enemy, between twenty 
and twenty -five killed, and fourteen wounded. 

At the very first fire, Lieutenant Burrows was mortally 
wounded by a musket ball. He refused, notwithstanding, to 
be carried below, and during the whole of the action his life's 
blood was streaming on the deck. With his dying lips he re- 
quested that the flag might never be struck. When the sword 
of his gallant enemy was presented to him, he clasped his 
hands together, and exclaimed, "I am satisfied ! I die content- 
ed !" He was then carried below, and expired shortly after. 
The bodies of Captain Blyth of the Boxer, and of Lieutenant 
Burrows, M^ere conveyed to Portland and interred at the same 
time with all the honors due to their rank and character. 
Having paid the debt which they owed to their respective 
countries, they now slumber side by side, awaiting the day of 
the resurrection together. The following resolution was unani- 
mously passed by both houses of Congress. 

" Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America, in Congress assembled : 

'' That the President of the United States be requested to pre- 
sent to the nearest male relative of Lieutenant Burrows, of the 
brig Enterprise, a gold medal, [see Plate XL,) with suitable em- 
blems and devices, in testimony of the high sense entertained 
by Congress, of the gallantry and good conduct of the officers 



264 LIEUTENANT WILLIAM BURROWS. 

and creAv, in the conllict with the British sloop Boxer, on the 
4th of September, 1813." 

It is rare to liud a character more distinctly defined than 
that of Lieutenant Burrows. He could accommodate him- 
self to the circumstances in which he was placed, and sus- 
pend the exercise of a darling passion, when the season 
would not admit of its indulgence. His heroism maintained 
a long and obstinate contest with the king of terrors, and 
he was only cold and insensible to the charms of glory, 
when he was invested with the coldness and insensibility of 
death. It is much to be lamented that no likeness of this dis- 
tinguished young officer now exists. The mind, in cases like 
the present, labors to supply the defect, and to form for itself 
a sort of sensible image, for we never read of high and 
illustrious actions without associating them witli a body. 

MONUMENT OF BURROWS. 

The following record must be read by every American, with 
pride and pleasure, at such an instance of liberality and honora- 
ble munificence to the memory of the brave. 

A gentleman from New York, Mattherv L. Davis, Esquire, 
while passing through Portland, some time since on a tour 
eastward, had accidentally taken a walk into the burying- 
ground. His attention was attracted to the neglected grave of 
the late Captain Burrows. The only guide to the spot, where 
is deposited one who had so nuich heroic merit, and wlio de- 
served so much of his country, was the tombstone of his de- 
ceased competitor, Captain Blyth, of the Boxer, which had 
been but recently erected by the surviving officers of that 
ship. The thought was instant. Mr. Davis immediately gave 
orders for an eleoant marble monument to be erected over the 
grave of Burrows, without the sparing of labor or expense. 



LIEUTENANT WILLIAM BURROWS. 255 

It was done ! and its style of execution does credit to the 
ingenious artist, and the inscription is highly creditable to the 
taste, judgment, and modesty of the generous donor, and 
worthy the hero whom it is designed to commemorate. 

THE TOMB OF BURROWS. 

I saw the green turf resting cold 

On Burrows' hallow'd grave ; 
No stone the inquiring patriot told 

Where slept the good and brave. 
Heaven's rain and dew conspired to blot 
The traces of the holy spot. 

No flow'rets deck'd the little mound, 

That moulder'd on his breast, 
Nor rural maidens, gathering round, 

His tomb with garlands drest ; 
But sporting children thoughtless trod 
On valor's consecrated sod. 

I mourn'd, who for his country bleeds 

Should be forgot so soon, 
That fairest fame and brightest deeds 

Should want a common boon. 
But oh! the rich have hearts of" steel, 
And what can Penury more than feel? 

At length " a passing stranger" came 

Whose hand its bounties shed ; 
He bade the sparkling marble claim 

A tribute for the dead : 
And, sweetly blending, hence shall How 
The tears of gratitude and woe! 



256 LIEUTENANT WILLIAM BURROWS. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Capture of the British sioop-of-w^ar Boxer. 

Device. — An urn, with the inscription, W. Burrows, on 
the pedestal ; military emblems tastefully arranged on each 
side; one is a coronal wreath hanging from a trident. 

Legend. — Victoriam tibi claram patriae msestam. 

Reverse. — Two brigs engaged. The Boxer on the lar- 
board side of the Enterprise. Main-topmast of the Boxer shot 
away. 

Legend. — Vivere sat vincere. 

Exergue. — Inter Enterprise nav. Ameri. et Boxer nav. 
Brit. 4th of September, 1813. 



I'l.ilc, 12, 








'i3 








LIEUT. EDWAED R. M'CALL. 



Edward Rutledge M'CALLwas born at Charleston, South 
CaroUna, August 5th, 1790. 

Having lost his father at an early age, he was placed under 
the care of a guardian who superintended his education, and 
upon learning the determination of his young charge to lead 
a seafaring life, he directed his studies accordingly. At the 
age of fifteen years, Edward R. M'Call received a midship- 
man's warrant, and was ordered to join the sloop-of-war Hornet, 
Captain John H. Dent. In 1811, he was ordered to join the 
Enterprise, Captain Blakeley, with the promotion of a lieu- 
tenancy on board that ship, where he remained till after the 
conflict with the Boxer, in which conflict Burrows, who had 
only a few days previous taken the command, was killed. 
The following letter from Lieutenant Edward R. M'Call to 
Commodore Hull, commanding naval officer on the eastern 
station, gives some account of the action. 
33 



258 LIEUTENANT EDWARD R. INl'CALL. 

llilfcil States J)riii- Enterprise, Portland, Sept. Ith, 18i:{, 

" Sir : — In (.'unseiiucncc oi" tlic iiiitbrtuiiato death of Licuten- 
ant-Commaiuiaut AVilliam Burrows, late commander of this 
vessel, it tlevulves on nie to acquaint you M-ith the result of 
our cruise. After sailing from Portsmouth on the 1st instant, 
we steered to tlie eastward, and on the morning of the 3d, off 
Wood Island, discovered a schooner which we chased into this 
harbor, where we anchored. 0\\ the morning of the 4th, 
weighed anchor anil swept out, and continued our course to 
the eastward. Having received information of several priva- 
teers being oil' Manhagan, we stood for that place, and on the 
following morning, in the bay near Penguin-Point, discovered 
a brig getting under way. which appeared to be a vessel of 
Avar, and to which we immediately gave chase. She tired 
several guns, and stood for us, having four ensigns hoisted. 
After reconnoitering and discovering her force, and the nation 
to which she belonged, we hauled upon a wind, to stand out 
of the bay, and at three o'clock, shortened sail, tacked, and 
run tlown, with an intention to bring her to a close action. 

" At twenty miuuti^s past three, P. M., when within half 
pistol shot, the tiring conunenci\l from both sides, and after 
being warnd\' \\c\\\ up, and w ith some mamtnivring, the enemy 
hailed and said they had surrendered, about four P. M. — their 
colors being nailed to the masts, could not be liauled down. 
She proved to be his 13ritish-]Majesty's brig Boxer, of fourteen 
guns. Sanuiel Blythe, Esquire, commander, who fell in the 
early part o( the engagement, having received a cannon shot 
through the body: antl, I am sorry to add. that Lieutenant 
Burrows, who had gallantlv led us to ;u'tion. tell also, about 
the same time, bv a musket ball, which terminated his exist- 
ence in eight hours, 'i'he Enterprise sulfered nuich, in spars 
and rigging ; and the Boxer both in spars, rigging, and ludl, 
havino- many shots between wind and water. 



LIEUTENANT EDWARD R. m'cALL. 259 

** It would be doing injustice to the merit of Mr. Tillingliast, 
second lieutenant, were I not to mention the able assistance 
I received from him, during the remainder of the engagement, 
by his strict attention to his own division and other depart- 
ments ; and the officers and crew, generally. I am happy to 
add, their cool and determined conduct have my warmest ap- 
probation. As no muster-roll, that can be fully relied on, has 
come into my possession, I cannot exactly state the number 
killed on board the Boxer, but from information received from 
the officers of that vessel, it appears that there were between 
twenty and twenty-five killed, and fourteen wounded. On 
board the Enterprise there was one killed and fifteen wounded, 
two since dead — sixty-six prisoners. 

" I have the honor, &c. 

" Edward R. M'Call, Sen. Officer. 
"Isaac Hull, Esq., Commanding on the Eastern Staliony 

After the action with the Boxer, Lieutenant M'Call was 
transferred from the Enterprise to the sloop-of-war Ontario, 
Captain Robert T. Spence, and subsequently to the Java, 
Commodore Perry, preparing for a cruise in the Mediterranean, 
on which cruise he remained till 1817. On his return home, 
Lieutenant M'Call was ordered to Charleston to take the com- 
mand of the sloop-of-war Peacock, also preparing to cruise in 
the Mediterranean. On his return, in 1 83 1 , he obtained leave of 
absence, and since that time has been waiting orders, till his 
country is disposed to employ again his admirable capacities 
for service. 

By a resolution of Congress, January 6th, 1814, which states 
the gallantry and good conduct displayed by Lieutenant Ed- 
ward R. M'Call, as second in command of the Enterprise, in 
the conflict with the Boxer, a gold medal [see Plate XII.) was 



260 LIEUTENANT EDWARD R. m'cALL. 

ordered to be struck and presented to him with tlie thanks of 
that body. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Capture of the British sloop-of-war Boxer. 
Device. — A bust of Lieutenant M'Call. 
Legend. — Edward M'Call, navis Enterprise prtefectus. 
Exergue. — Sic itur ad astra. 

Reverse, and the inscrijjtion on the exergue, the same as 
those of the medal of Lieutenant Burrows. 



CAPT. JAMES LAWRENCE. 



James Lawrence was the youngest son of John Law- 
rence, Esq., of Burlington, New Jersey, and was born on the 
1st of October, 178L Having lost his mother a few weeks 
after his birth, his two eldest sisters, by their most tender 
attention, endeavored to supply her place. His affection for 
his sisters was in a measure filial, as well as fraternal, being 
bound to them by the double ties of blood and education. 
Their assiduities were directed to the cultivation of his feelings 
and his principles, and they were only relieved from respon- 
sibility when they gave him to society, liberal, humane and 
virtuous. At the age of twelve years he exhibited a passion 
for the sea, but his father was anxious that he should be edu- 
cated for the law, a profession in which he was himself con- 
siderably distinguished ; and in consequence of his limited 
means, his son James received his education at a grammar- 
school in his native town. At the age of fourteen he removed 
to Woodbury, and commenced a course of law studies with 
his brother John Lawrence, who was at that time a lawyer of 
some distinction there. Soon after his removal his father 



262 CAPTAIN JAMES LAWRENCE. 

died. James was now wholly an orphan, and long and severe 
were his sufferings at the loss of so good a parent, but in time 
they wore away, and he made an urgent appeal to his brother 
in favor of the path to which his genius had directed him. 

The faithful and affectionate brother had discovered that 
the pursuits of law were loathsome to his pupil, and that seden- 
tary habits suited not a frame formed for activity, nor study a 
mind that gloried in action, nor the land a heart whose only 
delight was the broad ocean. It was, therefore, thought best, 
on the whole, to surrender him at once to the prerogative of 
his nature. At his own request he returned to ]jurlington, 
and commenced the study of navigation. He remained there 
only sufficiently long to attain the elements of the theory 
of that science; but it was all he required. His mind, once 
receiving a proper direction, could go forward at leisure, of its 
own motion; a guide was wanting only to show the path and 
to mark out the course ; it was for Lawrence alone to arrive 
at the goal. It was not long before he was pronounced a most 
finished seaman, and this character could not have been ac- 
quired otherwise than by devoting himself exclusively to the 
acquisition of nautical science, including combination of prac- 
tice with theory. 

In the seventeenth year of his age — in the bloom of youth 
and the pride of his strength — full of hope, he applied for a 
station in the navy. Such was the correctness of his charac- 
ter, the promise of his life, and the interest felt for him, that 
many of the oldest and most respectable citizens of the state 
came forward with alacrity, in aid of his application. The 
mail that carried it returned with a warrant for midshipman 
Lawrence ; and he entered his country's service on the 5th of 
September, 1798. His first voyage was to the West Indies, 
in the ship Ganges, Captain Tingey. Nothing of conse- 
quence occurred to our young officer for the two first years of 



CAPTAIN JAMES LAWRENCE. 263 

his seafaring life, until his promotion to a lieutenancy on 
board the Adams, Captain Robinson, where he remained until 
March, 1801. In the war with Tripoli, Lawrence was a 
commissioned lieutenant and attached 'to the Enterprise as 
first officer. In the bombardment of Tripoli, he acted a very 
conspicuous part, which was acknowledged by Decatur in his 
official reports.. After his return from the Mediterraneafl, he 
was some time at New York, attached to the navy yard in 
that city. While there the attention of the naval gentlemen of 
that place was attracted by some "queries" in the "Public 
Advertiser," the object of which was to call Commodore 
Rogers to account for not having used the gunboats in a par- 
ticular manner on a recent occasion. One query alluded to 
the inferior officers, and particularly the commanders of gun- 
boats. " Why," asks the writer, " are the commanders of these 
gun-boats suffered to be swaggering through our streets, while 
they should be whetting their sabres ?" So much insolence 
incensed the whole corps; and Lawrence, being the senior 
officer then on that station, in behalf of them, addressed the 
following note to the printer. 

" To Mr, Frank, Editor of the Public Advertiser. 

" Your queries in the Public Advertiser of Monday, were 
of a nature to excite indignation in the coldest bosom, and 
procure for you the chastisement which a scoundrel deserves. 
In answer to your ' Queries,' which immediately relate to the 
navy, if you wish to bo informed why Commodore Rodgers 
did not employ the apparent force with which government 
has invested him, I would refer you to the constituted au- 
thorities. On this subject they alone can gratify your curi- 
osity. In regard to the commanders of gun-boats, whom you 
term swaggerers, I assure you their 'sabres' are sufficiently 



264 CAPTAIN JAMES LAWRENCE. 

keen to cut off your ears, and will inevitably be employed in 
that service, if any future remarks, injurious to their reputa- 
tion, should be inserted in your paper. 

"James Lawrence, Lieut. U. S. N., 
" In behalf of the queers. 

''Navy Yard, N. York, 6th Sept., 1807." 

• 

The editor, having too much respect for his ears, let the 
matter rest. Lawrence was next appointed first lieutenant to 
the Constitution, where he remained until he was promoted 
to the rank of master and commander, and directed to take 
command, in succession, of the Vixen, Wasp, Argus and Hor- 
net; was twice sent with dispatches to Europe — once to Lon- 
don and once to Paris. 

In 1808 he married a Miss Montandevert, of New York. 
At the declaration of war in 1812, he sailed in command 
of the Hornet, in the squadron commanded by Commodore 
Rodgers, consisting of the United States, Congress and Ar- 
gus, and after a cruise not distinguished by any signal suc- 
cess, returned to Boston on the 31st of August in the same 
year. 

Captain Lawrence went to sea again in October, 1812, as 
commander of the Hornet under Commodore Bainbridge, who 
commanded for this cruise in the Constitution. Their destina- 
tion was the East Indies, but near Brazil Captain Lawrence 
captured the English brig Resolution with ten guns and 
twenty-five thousand dollars, but being a dull sailer, after 
securing the crew and the money he burnt her. Captain 
Lawrence then sailed tow^ards Demerara, and in passing 
round the Corobano bank he espied a sail on his weather- 
quarter and about to approach him. It was the Peacock, 
Captain William Peake, with English colors. 

The Hornet was immediately cleared for action, and kept 



CAPTAIN JAMES LAWRENCE. 265 

close to the wind to get the weather-gage of the enemy; 
shortly they exchanged broadsides at half pistol-shot distance. 
Finding the enemy in the act of wearing, Captain Lawrence 
bore up, and gave him a well directed and tremendous fire, 
and in less than fifteen minutes from the commencement of 
the action, the signal of distress had taken the place of the 
British flag. In an instant a lieutenant boarded her and found 
her cut to pieces, her captain killed, many of her crew killed 
or w^ounded, her mizzen-mast by the board, six feet water in the 
hold, and the vessel fast sinking. The tw^o ships were imme- 
diately brought to anchor, the Hornet's boats dispatched to 
bring ofl" the wounded, the guns thrown overboard, the shot 
holes that could be got at plugged, every thing done, by 
pumping and bailing, to keep her afloat ; yet she went down 
before all her wounded seamen could be removed. The Hor- 
net had one man killed and lost three brave fellows while at- 
tempting to rescue the vanquished from a watery grave ; four 
of her seamen were taken from the tops just before the Pea- 
cock had entirely disappeared. Captain Lawrence now de- 
termined to sail for New York; no sooner had he arrived 
there, than the officers of the Peacock honorably made pub- 
lic their grateful feelings for the kindness of Captain Law- 
rence and the officers under him. They said, " 7ve ceased to 
consider ourselves prisoners ^ The crew most heartily vied 
with their captain in generosity as well as bravery. The 
sailors of the Peacock were left destitute of a change of 
apparel, so suddenly had their vessel sunk. The crew of the 
Hornet most kindly contributed to their wants. Such con- 
duct is worthy heroic sailors ! these brave hearts from oppo- 
site extremities of the ocean, mingling together on the same 
deck, beat with but one common pulsation. On the meeting 
of the next Congress, this battle was thus officially noticed by 
the President of the nation : — 
34 



266 CAPTAIN JAMES LAWRENCE. 

'' In continuance of the brilliant achievements of our infant 
navy, a signal triumph has been gained by Captain Lawrence 
and his companions, in the Hornet sloop-of-war, which de- 
stroyed a British sloop-of-war with a celerity so unexampled, 
and w ith a slaughter of the enemy so disproportionate to the 
loss in the Hornet, as to claim for the conqueror the highest 
praise." 

Captain Lawrence, after remaining in New York a short 
time, received orders to repair to Boston and take command 
of the Chesapeake, to sail on the 1st day of June. On 
his arrival there, he w^as informed that a British ship had 
been cruising around in sight of the harbor for the last three 
days. He accordingly, on the 1st, proceeded in chase of her, 
and was informed by pilots they believed it to be the British 
frigate Shannon. About four o'clock, P. M., she came in 
sight; he accordingly directed his course towards her; at half 
past four, P. M., she hove to, with her head to the southward 
and eastward ; at five, P.M., she took in the royal and top- 
gallant sails, and at about fifteen minutes before six the action 
commenced within pistol-shot distance. The first broadside 
killed, among others, the sailing master, and wounded Captain 
LawTence ; in about twelve minutes afterwards, the Chesa- 
peake fell on board of the Shannon, and immediately there- 
upon, an armed chest, on the quarter-deck of the Chesapeake, 
was blown up by a hand grenade from the enemy, and every 
officer, on whom the charge of the ship could devolve, was 
either killed or wounded previous to the capture. Captain 
Lawrence, who, 1)leeding, had still kept the deck, supporting 
himself against the companion-way, in the act of giving 
orders, was levelled by a second ball ; he was carried below% 
making a particular request that the ship should not be sur- 
rendered. The surgeon hurried to his captain in the cock- 
pit, to relieve the most excruciating pains from his wounds 
both in the body and the leg. But, '' No — serve those who 



CAPTAIN JAMES LAWRENCE. 267 

came before me, first; I can wait my turn," said the noble- 
hearted sailor— rgreater even below than above deck. The 
wounds of Captain LawTence confined him to his bed until 
the moment of his death; he lingered in much pain and 
suffering until the 5th of June, when, in the thirty-second 
year of his age, he expired. He died young ; he gave him- 
self to glory and his country ; not to dwell upon public re- 
collection mangled and mutilated, but leaving in the fond eye 
of faithful memory the whole image of a perfect hero, unim- 
paired by age or by accident, in all the freshness of youth 
and the fair fullness of his admired proportions. Funeral 
solemnities were rendered to Captain Lawrence and his Lieu- 
tenant, Ludlow, at Halifax. " By strangers honored and by 
strangers mourned." His enemies were his mourners, or 
rather the enemies of his country, for personal enemies he 
had none. The tears of Britons evinced how much more 
gratefully they would have show^n homage to his person than 
every respectful attention to his remains. That flag, from 
which he had parted but with life, w^as restored to him in 
death. " His signal once, but now his winding sheet." In 
the month of August following the remains of Lawrence and 
Ludlow were removed from Halifax and arrived at Salem on 
the 18th, where a public funeral service and eulogy were pro- 
nounced by the Hon. Judge Story, and from thence, at the 
request of the relatives, were removed to New York ; there 
the city council took charge of the funeral in a manner worthy 
the munificence which they had promptly manifested on 
every naval occasion. They gave the two children of Cap- 
tain Lawrence one thousand dollars each, to be vested in the 
sinking-fund of the corporation, and paid, with the interest, to 
the daughter at eighteen, and to the son at twenty -one years 
of age. 

His remains were interred in St. Paul's burying-ground, in 



268 CAPTAIN JAMES LAWRENCE. 

that city, where a suitable monument is erected. Captain 
Lawrence was amiable in private as he ha(i made himself 
admirable in his professional life. The domestic w^ere in the 
same circle with the ocean virtues, each heightening the charm 
of the others. As a Christian, his proof of faith in our 
Heavenly Father w^as love to every brother upon earth. His 
country wears the laurel to his honor, the cypress for his loss. 

A monument has been erected in Trinity church-yard. New 
York, of which the following is a description : — 

The design is simple and affectingly appropriate. It is a 
broken column of white marble, of the pure Doric, the cap 
broken off and resting on the base. The inscription is, we 
think, singularly beautiful, and does great honor to the author. 
It presents a fine contrast to the unfeeling and inflated bom- 
bast which so often disgraces this species of composition, ex- 
hibiting a rare specimen of that sweet yet dignified simplicity 
w^hich so well accords w4th the records and the emblems of 
perishing mortality. The introduction of the dying words of 
this gallant officer, is in the highest degree affecting. 

In Memory of 

Captain James Lawrence, 

of the United States Navy, 

wdio fell 

on the first day of June, 1813, in the 32d year of his age, 

in the action between the frigates Chesapeake and Shannon. 

He distinguished himself on various occasions ; 

but particularly when he commanded the 

sloop-of-war Hornet, 

by capturing and sinking 

His Britannic Majesty's sloop-of-war Peacock, 

after a desperate action of 14 minutes. 

His bravery in action, 

was only equaled by his modesty in triumph 



CAPTAIN JAMES LAWRENCE. 269 

and his magnanimity to the 

vanquished. 

In private life 

he was a gentleman of the most 

generous and endearing qualities; 

and so acknowledged was his public worth, 

that the whole nation mourned his loss ; 

and the enemy contended with his countrymen, 

who most should honor his remains. 

ON THE REVERSE. 

The Hero, 

whose remains are here deposited, 

with his expiring breath, 

expressed his devotion to his country. 

Neither the fury of battle ; 

the anguish of a mortal wound ; 

nor the horrors of approaching Death, 

could subdue his gallant spirit. 

His dying words were, 

"don't GIVE UP THE SHIP." 



Description of the gold medal presented by Congress to 
the nearest male relative of Captain James Lawrence. 

Occasion. — Capture of the British sloop-of-war Peacock, 

Device. — Bust of Captain Lawrence. 

Legend. — Jac. Lawrence. Dolce et decorum est pro patria 
mori. 

Reverse. — A vessel in the act of sinking, mizzen-mast shot 
away ; a boat rowing towards her from the American ship. 

Legend. — Mansuetud. Maj. quam Victoria. 

Exergue. — Inter Hornet nav. Ameri. et Peacock nav. 
Ang. die 24th February, 1813. 



CAPTAIN THOMAS MACDONOUGH. 



For the biography and exploits of this brave officer, we 
are indebted to that valuable work entitled " The Portrait 
Gallery." 

" Thomas Macd enough was born in the county of Newcastle, 
in the state of Delaware, in December, 1783. His father was 
a physician, but inspired with a love of liberty, he entered the 
army of the revolution as a major ; he did not, however, re- 
main long in the service, but returned to private life and his 
professional pursuits, until the close of the war, when he was 
made a judge; in which office he remained until his death, 
which happened in 1795. He left three sons. His eldest son, 
James, was a midshipman with Commodore Truxton when 
he took the Insurgent. 

" In that battle he was so severely wounded, that his leg was 
obliged to be amputated. He soon afterwards left the navy 
with the reputation of a brave officer. In 179S, the subject 
of this memoir obtained a warrant as a midshipman, and com- 
menced his career as a naval officer. 

"Those who were acquainted with his early life, spoke of 



CAPTAIN THOMAS MACDONOUGH. 271 

Midshipman Macdonough as a young officer of great promise ; 
but he had no opportunity of being made known to the public 
until the country had the misfortune to lose the frigate Phila- 
delphia. When the gallant Decatur proposed to burn her, as 
she lay in possession of the enemy, he selected Macdonough 
as one of the young officers to accompany him on that hazard- 
ous expedition; and he reaped an early harvest of honor in 
that daring exploit, with his leader and others. The Medi- 
terranean has been the birth-place of more naval reputations 
than all the waters of the world beside, and it was there, too, 
that our infant navy displayed some of those acts of valor and 
good conduct which were of importance in themselves, and 
were hailed as presages of future glory for our country. When 
Macdonough was first lieutenant of the Syren, under com- 
mand of Captain Smith, a circumstance occurred in the harbor 
of Gibraltar sufficiently indicative of the firmness and deci- 
sion of his character. An American merchant brig came to 
anchor near the United States vessel. Macdonough, in the 
absence of Captain Smith, who had gone on shore, saw a boat 
from a British frigate board the brig, and take from her a man. 
He instantly manned and armed his gig and pursued the 
British boat, which he overtook, just as it reached the frigate, 
and without ceremony took the impressed man into his own 
boat. The frigate's boat was twice the force of his own ; but 
the act was so bold as to astound the lieutenant who com- 
manded the press-gang, and no resistance was offered. 

When the affair was made known to the British captain he 
came on board the Syren in a great rage, and inquired how he 
dared to take a man from his boat. Macdonough replied that 
the man was an American seaman, and was under the protec- 
tion of the flag of the United States, and that it was his duty 
to protect him. The captain, with a volley of oaths, swore he 
would bring his frigate along side the Syren and sink her. 



272 CAPTAIN THOMAS MACDONOUGH. 

' This you may do,' said Macdonough, ' but wiiile she swims 
the man you will not have.' The English captain told Mac- 
donough that he was a young hairbrained fellow, and would 
repent of his rashness. ' Supposing sir,' said he, ' I had been 
in that boat, would you have dared to have committed such 
an act V 'I should have made the attempt, sir, at all hazards,' 
was the reply. ' What, sir !' said the English captain, 'would 
you venture to interfere if I were to impress men from that 
brig?' ' You have only to try it, sir!' was the pithy answer. 
The English officer returned to his ship, manned his boat, and 
made his way towards the brig. Macdonough did the same, 
but there the affair ended, — the English boat took a circuitous 
route and returned to the ship. 

" There was such a calmness in the conduct of Lieutenant 
Macdonough, such a solemnity in his language, such a polite- 
ness in his manner, that the British officer saw that he had to 
deal with no ordinary man, and that it was not prudent to put 
him on his metal. In that garden of the world, the shores of 
the Mediterranean, where nations have grown up and decayed, 
and others have taken their places; where everything is marked 
with age, luxury, crime, and temptation, and where many a 
fine young officer has made shipwreck of his morals and his 
health, Macdonough exhibited the Spartan firmness with the 
Christian virtues. His bravery w^as never for one moment 
doubted, but he was so reserved, temperate, and circumspect, 
that the envious sometimes strove to bring him to their level, 
and often were snares set for him, but he was never caught. 
His character was fair and bright as the surface of a mirror, 
before it was brought to reflect any ray of glory upon himself 
and his country. 

" There is generally a good share of sagacity in the common 
sailor; he sees through a character much clearer than we 
generally suppose. Before Macdonough had been promoted 



CAPTAIN THOMAS MACDONOUGH. 273 

to a lieutenancy, he had the heart of every sailor who knew 
him. There are few^ so ignorant that they cannot distinguish 
moral worth, when connected with professional ability, and 
none so bad as not to approve of it. It has often been stated, 
and never questioned, that while in Syracuse, he was one night 
attacked by three assassins, with daggers. 

" He drew his sword, and wounded two of them so severely 
as to fear nothing further from them; the other fled, but he 
pursued him to the roof of a building, and climbing it after 
the assassin, would have caught him, if he had not thrown 
himself from it with the loss of his life. At the declaration 
of war with England, in 1812, our navy was put into requisi- 
tion, and every officer panted for distinction. The elder offi- 
cers wT.re mostly sent on the ocean ; some of the high spirited 
juniors to the lakes. Among the latter. Lieutenant Macdon- 
ough was ordered to Lake Champlain, an important station; 
for through this lake a communication could most readily be 
had with the most powerful part of the Canadas. 

" The main armies of the British were always near Montreal 
and Quebec, but for the first two years of the w^ar, both sides 
were busy in another direction, particularly on the Lakes On- 
tario and Erie. The contending powers watched each other's 
movements and kept nearly pari passic in the augmentation of 
their naval forces ; the English always in the advance, having 
in many respects greater facilities; if not in ship building, 
certainly in procuring munitions of w^ar, sails, rigging, &c. 

" Towards the close of the summer of 1814, the warlike pre- 
parations on Lake Champlain, and its vicinity, seemed to por- 
t-end some powerful shock. 

" Large bodies of troops, the veterans of Wellington's army, 

to the amount of sixteen thousand, had arrived in Canada, 

and were preparing to strike a severe blow on the frontiers, one 

that would be felt to the very vitals of the nation. Izard re- 

35 



274 CAPTAIN THOMAS MACDONOUGH. 

ceived orders to assist Brown, and Macomb was left with a 
handful of men to defend Plattsburgh. The fleet under Mac- 
donongh was put in readiness for an attack. He had only four 
ships, the Saratoga, twenty-six guns; the Eagle, twenty guns; 
the Ticonderoga, seventeen guns ; the Preble, seven guns ; and 
ten galleys, carrying sixteen giuis, making in all eighty-six 
guns. 

'' The British force was larger ; four ships and thirteen gal- 
le3^s, in all ninetv-five guns ; their complement of men was also 
much larger. 

'- That the American fleet was commanded by a young offi- 
cer who ranked only as lieutenant, and the British by an old 
experienced officer, gave Sir George Prevost no doubt of the 
issue of his naval operations. On the land, too, with his vete- 
rans from Waterloo, he was quite certain of a signal victory. 
On the afternoon of the 10th of September, it was evident 
that the assault on the lake and on the land was to be made 
the next day ; and Macdonough deemed it best to await the 
attack at anchor. At eiorht o'clock on the mornincr of the 
11th, the British fleet was seen approaching, and in another 
hour the battle had commenced. 

" The most accurate description of it must be from his own 
pen. ' At nine,' says Macdonough, ' the enemy anchored in 
a line ahead, at about three hundred yards distant from my 
line; his ship opposed to the Saratoga; his brig to the Eagle, 
Captain Robert Henley ; his galleys, thirteen in number, to 
tlie schooner, sloop, and a division of our galleys; one of his 
sloops assisting their ship and brig ; the other assisting their 
gallej's ; our remaining galleys were with the Saratoga and 
Eagle. 

" ' In this situation, the whole force on both sides became 
engaged, the Saratoga suffering much from the heavy fire of 
the Confiance. I could perceive at the same time, however, 



CAPTAIN THOMAS MACDONOUGII. 275 

that our fire was very destructive to her. The Ticonderoga, 
Lieutenant Commandant Cassin, gallantly sustained her full 
share of the action. At half past ten, the Eagle not being 
able to bring her guns to bear, cut her cable and anchored in 
a more eligible position, between my ship and the Ticon- 
deroga, where she very much annoyed the enemy, but unfor- 
tunately leaving me much exposed to a galling fire from the 
enemy's brig. 

" ' Our guns on the starboard side being nearly all dismount- 
ed, or unmanageable, a stern anchor was let go, the lower cable 
cut, and tlie ship winded with a fresh broadside on the ene- 
my's ship, which soon after surrendered. Our broadside was 
then sprung to bear on the brig, which surrendered about 
fifteen minutes afterwards. The sloop which was opposed to 
the Eagle, had struck some time before, and drifted down the 
line. The sloop that was with their galleys had also struck. 
Three of their galleys sunk, the others pulled off". Our galleys 
were about obeying with alacrity the signal to follow them, 
when all the vessels were reported to me to be in a sinking- 
condition. 

" Tt then became necessary to annul the signal to the galleys, 

and order their men to the pumps. I could only look at the 
enemy's galleys going off" in a shattered condition, for there 
was not a mast in either squadron that could stand to make 
sail on. The lower rigging being nearly shot aw^ay, hung 
down as though it had just been placed over the mast heads. 

" ' The Saratoga had fifty-five round shot in her hull ; the 
British ship Confiance, one handred and five. The enemy's 
shot passed principally just over our heads, as there were not 
twenty whole hammocks in the nettings, at the close of the 
action, which lasted without intermission two hours and twT.nty 
minutes. 

" ' The absence and sickness of Lieutenant Raymond Perry, 



276 CAPTAIN TII0?.IAS :\IACDOXOrGH. 

left me ^vitlioiit the assistance of that excellent officer. Much 
ought fairly to be attributed to him for his great care and at- 
tention in disciplining the ship's crew, as her first lieutenant. 
His place was tilled by a gallant young officer, Lieutenant 
Peter Gamble, who, I regret to inform you, was killed early 
in the action.' 

" The Saratoga was twice on fire during the action, by hot 
shot from the Confiance ; but the flames were promptly extin- 
guished. At the same time the land forces were engaged, 
both armies lookinor on tlie sea fioht as in a measure the turn- 
ing point with them. 

'• The loss of the Americans was fifty-two killed, and fifty- 
eight wounded ; that of the British, eighty-four killed and one 
hundred and ten wounded. The prisoners taken far exceeded 
the whole number of Americans in the action. This victory 
was hailed by the whole nation with great joy. The state of 
New York, in justice and gratitude, gave the gallant captain 
a thousand acres of laud, of no small value, and the state of 
Vermont made a grant of two hundred acres, within a short 
distance of the battle oTound. The city of New York ora.ye 
Macdonough a valuable lot of land, and the city of Albany 
did the same. Festive honors were offered him in all places 
where he chanced to pass through, which were generally de- 
clined. 

" Congress presented a vote of thanks and a gold medal, {See 
Plate XII.) From the close of the war to the time of his 
decease, he shared the honors of the home and foreicm service 
with his compeers. 

" He was an excellent member of courts martial, for he 
brought to those tribunals a candid mind, ever ready to find 
matters that made in favor of the accused as well as ao-ainst him. 
For several years before his death he made his home in Middle- 
town, Connecticut, where he had married a Miss Shaler, a lady 



CAPTAIN THOMAS MACDONOUGII. 277 

of a liiglily respectable family of that place. He died of 
consumption, on the 10th of November, 1825. His wife had 
paid the debt of nature only a few months before." 

The great charms of his character w^ere the refinement of his 
taste, the purity of his principles, and the sincerity of his re- 
ligion. These gave a perfume to his name w^hich the partial 
page of history seldom can retain for departed warriors, how- 
ever brilliant their deeds. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Victory on Lake Champlain. 

Device. — A bust of Captain Macdonough. 

Legend. — Tho. Macdonough stagno Champlain class. Reg. 
Britan. superavit. 

Reverse. — Fleet engaged; many boats on the lake; Platts- 
burgh in sight. 

Legend. — Uno latere percusso alteram impavide vertit. 

Exergue. — Inter class. Ameri. et Brit, die 11th Sept. 1814. 



CAPT. ROBERT HENLEY. 



Robert Henley was born in James' City county, in the 
state of Virginia, on the 5th day of January, 1783. He was 
educated at AVilham and Mary College, in that state, and 
intended for the profession of the law ; but his mind seeming- 
bent on a seafaring life, his parents reluctantly permitted him 
to apply to his relative. General Washington, for a midship- 
man's warrant, which, at his particular desire, was obtained, 
and he entered the navy in 1799. Although but sixteen years 
of age when he entered the service of the United States, he 
possessed a good mind and showed great firmness and decision 
of character ; he had laboriously applied himself to reading 
and study, more particularly in preparation for the naval ser- 
vice, which it was his determination to follow, although at 
that time his wishes were unknown to his friends. His first 
cruise was with Commodore Truxtun, in the Constellation, 
and he was present at her encounter with the French ship 
''La Vengeance." 

Not a year had elapsed before our young sailor had an op- 
portunity of knowing by experience the toils and hardships of 







38 




CAPTAIN ROBERT HENLEY. 279 

a seafaring life. On the first of February, 1800, the despe- 
rate conflict between the Constellation and La Vengeance took 
place, and during the struggle, which lasted from eight in the 
evening until nearly one in the morning, the bravery of Mid- 
shipman Henley was unflinching ; although nearly exhausted 
by fatigue he never for one moment deserted his post, and 
after the conflict was over, was one of the first who was com- 
plimented by his commander for his bravery, who observed 
while pointing to him, " That stripling is destined to be a 
brave officer." 

On his return to the United States he obtained leave of 
absence and returned to Williamsburgh, where he attended a 
course of lectures on navigation and naval science. This 
seemed to infuse him with new life and vigor, and his buoyant 
pride was soon gratified by an appointment to the command 
of a gun-boat at Norfolk and promotion to a lieutenancy. 
After remaining some years in this and similar situations, he 
received the command of the brig Eagle on Lake Champlain, 
and was second in command to Commodore McDonough in 
that decisive battle ; who, in his official letter, speaks of the 
gallantry of our hero, as follows : — " To Captain Robert Hen- 
ley, of the brig Eagle, much is to be ascribed ; his courage 
was conspicuous, and I most earnestly recommend him as 
wortiiy of the highest trust and confidence." 

For his gallant conduct throughout this engagement. Con- 
gress voted to Captain Robert Henley a gold medal [see Plate 
XHL) and the thanks of both houses. After the battle of 
Lake Champlain, Captain Henley resided for some time in 
Norfolk, Virginia, in order to overlook some matters connected 
with the naval station at that place, until 1S27, when he was 
called to the command of the Hornet, and ordered to cruise 
in the West Indies. On his return to the United States he 
was stationed in North Carolina, where he remained some 



280 CArTAIX ROBERT HENLEY. 

years ; from tlieiice he was ordered to Charleston, South Caro- 
lina, where he died in command in the year 1829. He mar- 
ried in early life but left no family. Captain Henley M'as 
a man of fine and commanding appearance, of a sanguine and 
ardent temperament, combined with great decision of charac- 
ter : although generous and brave, he was easily appeased ; 
he was magnanimous, hospitable, and possessed a Avarmth of 
heart that made him the idol of his crews ; he was full of 
chivalry, and a devoted lover of his country ; whose interest 
seemed to govern every action of his life. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Victory on Lake Champlain. 

Device. — Bust of Captain Henley. 

Legend. — Rob. Henley, Eagle pra:>fect. Palma virtu, per 
ceternit. Floribit. 

Reverse. — A fleet engaged before a town enveloped in 
smoke. Several boats on the lake filled with sailors rowing. 

Legend. — Uno latere percusso alterum impavide vertit. 

Exergue. — Inter class. Ameri. et Brit, die 11th Sept. 1814. 



CAPTAIN STEPHEN CASSIN. 



Stephen Cassin, the son of Commodore Joliii Cassiii of the 
United States Navy, was born in Philadelphia, the 16tli of 
February, 1783. 

He entered the navy as midshipman in 1800, then in his 
seventeenth year. His first cruise in 1801, was in the frigate 
Philadelphia, Commodore Stephen Decatur, the father of 
the late and gallant Decatur, whose bravery in the Tripolitan 
war and also in the war of 1812, forms a conspicuous part 
in the naval history of America. After a cruise of nearly 
two years, during which nothing of consequence occurred, 
the command of the Philadelphia was transferred to Cap- 
tain Samuel Barron, and after a short cruise with him. Mid- 
shipman Cassin was transferred to the schooner Nautilus 
of sixteen guns, ordered to form part of the squadron prepar- 
ing to sail for the Mediterranean, under the command of Com- 
modore Preble, for the purpose of protecting effectually the 
commerce and seamen of the United States against the Tri- 
politan cruisers on the Atlantic ocean, the Mediterranean and 
adjoining seas. 
36 



282 CAPTAIN STEPHEN CASSIN. 

This squadron, consisting of seven sail, viz : the Constitu- 
tion, forty-four guns ; Philadelphia, forty-four, already on the 
station ; Argus, eighteen ; Siren, sixteen ; Nautilus, sixteen ; 
Vixen, sixteen ; Enterprise, fourteen. This squadron sailed 
on the 13th of August, 1803, and reached Gibraltar the 13th 
of September. On the 17th, they arrived in Tangier bay, 
when the negotiations commenced which terminated so pros- 
perously and which have already been given in the life of 
Commodore Preble. After two years' service as midshipman 
in the Nautilus, greatest part of the time being spent in cruises 
in the Mediterranean, Stephen Cassin was promoted to a 
lieutenancy on board tiie John Adams, Captain Shaw. 

Not long after his promotion. Lieutenant Cassin returned 
to the United States, and sailed as captain of a merchant ship 
to the Pacific, where he was captured by the Spaniards and 
detained for nearly two years. Soon after his second return 
to the United States, he joined the Chesapeake, Commodore 
Hull. In this ship, he made several cruises under this brave 
commander. In the interval between the Tripolitan war and 
that which commenced in 1812, no occasion occurred to our 
naval officers by which they signalized themselves ; we there- 
fore pass over that period till we find Lieutenant Cassin pro- 
moted to the command of the Ticonderoga, eighteen guns, 
and ordered forthwith to join the squadron commanded by 
Macdonough on Lake Champlain. 

Among the young officers of the navy who were ordered 
on the lake service, and destined to become illustrious in our 
naval annals was the hero of these memoirs. 

Commodore Macdonough, in his official account of the battle 
on Lake Champlain, says, " The Ticonderoga, Lieutenant 
Commandant Stephen Cassin, gallantly sustained her full 
share of the action." In this sharp conflict, the British force 
was superior in numbers; being the frigate Confiance, thirty- 



CAPTAIN STEPHEN CASSIN. 283 

nine guns ; the Linnet, sixteen guns ; the Finch, eleven guns ; 
and thirteen galleys, carrying eighteen guns ; in all, ninety-live 
guns, nine more than were in the American fleet ; their com- 
plement of men was much greater. The calmness of this 
lake permitted heavy armaments in comparatively light vessels, 
and of this circumstance the British availed themselves to the 
utmost, giving their commander a ship equal in force to the 
President or the Constitution, with which he — being a veteran 
officer — made sure of capturing the young American officer, 
ranking only as lieutenant, who was his opponent in a flag- 
ship of twenty-six guns. But it is here seen, that "the race 
is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.'" Naval 
discipline, skill, coolness, and courage, were put in requisition 
in this battle, united with daring intrepidity in coming down 
head upon the line of an enemy of superior force. As a 
description of this battle has been given in the memoir of 
the gallant Commander Macdonough, it is unnecessary to 
repeat it here. Lieutenant Cassin was promoted to the rank 
of post-captain, and received from Congress a gold medal, 
an engraving of which is given in Plate XIIL, in com- 
memoration of the victory. At the close of the war. Captain 
Cassin commanded the Newport, Rhode Island Station, and 
since had command, for five years, of the Washington Navy 
yard. Captain Cassin's residence, when not in service, has 
always been in the vicinity of Washington, where his well- 
known character for courage and ability, and his amiable and 
gentlemanly deportment have drawn around him a large circle 
of friends. Notwithstanding the difficulties and disappoint- 
ments attending a young officer in his first naval career, and 
his oppressing captivity in Spain for two years, yet his un- 
daunted spirit led him forward, in spite of every untoward 
event in the path of glory, and crowned his exertions with 
success. 



28-4 CAPTAIN STEniEN CASSIN. 



DESCRTPTIOX OF THE :\rEDAL. 



Occasion. — Victor v on Lake Cliamplain. 

Device. — Bust of Lieutenant Stephen Cassin. 

Legend. — Step. Cassin Ticonderoga prsefect. qua:' regio in 
terris nos. non plena lab. 

Reverse. — A fleet engaged before a town enveloped in 
smoke. Several boats on the lake filled with sailors rowing. 

Legend. — Lhio latere percusso alteram impa^ide vertit. 

Exergue. — Liter class. Ameri. et Brit, die 11th Sept. 1S14. 



COMMODORE WARRINGTON. 



Lewis Warrington is the descendant of an old and re- 
spectable family in Williamsburgh, near Norfolk, in Virginia, 
wdiere he was born on the 3d day of November, 1782. He 
finished the higher branches of his education at William and 
Mary College in that state. The habits of study which he 
acquired at that excellent institution, and the associations 
which he formed, have never forsaken him, but have con- 
tinued to mark his character and augment his information, at 
intervals of leisure, amidst the toils and tumults, the hard- 
ships and privations of a naval life. In consequence of an 
unusually retentive memory, added to a strong attachment to 
books, his mind is amply enriched with general knowledge. 
Shortly after the completion of his studies at Williamsburgh, 
he received an appointment in the navy as midshipman, and 
entered the service in January, 1800. His first cruise was on 
board the Chesapeake, commanded by Captain Samuel Bar- 
ron, to the West Indies. In 1801 he was removed to the 
frigate President, Captain Dale, on a cruise to the Mediter- 
ranean, but returned the following year. During the same 



286 COMMODORE WARRINGTON. 

year he returned again to the Mediterranean, as master's mate 
in the frigate New York, under the command of Captain 
James Barron. 

At Gibraltar he was transferred to the frigate Cliesapeake, 
then on lier return to the United States. In 1803 he again 
sailed in the schooner Vixen, Captain John Smith, to join the 
American squadron in the Mediterranean, where, actively 
participating in their exertions and dangers, he was justly 
entitled to share the glory attendant on the achievements of 
that band of heroes. Late in the year 1804 he was pro- 
moted to the rank of acting lieutenant, and on the termina- 
tion of hostilities with the Tripolitans, was transferred, with 
Captain Smith, to the brig Syren, and in the succeeding 
year to the schooner Enterprise, Captain Porter, and returned 
to the United States in 1807. From that period until 1809 
he was variously employed, always intent on his own improve- 
ment in the science of his profession. In March of that year 
he was appointed first lieutenant on board the brig Syren, 
Captain Charles Gordon, and ordered to sail to France with 
dispatches. In September, 1811, he was appointed first lieu- 
tenant in the brig Essex, under Captain Smith, who not long 
after was appointed to the command of the frigate Congress, 
and requested as a favor that Lieutenant Warrington might 
be permitted to accompany him. The request was complied 
with, and Warrington remained with his friend. Captain 
Smith, until March, 1813, when he was transferred as first 
lieutenant to the frigate United States, under the command of 
Commodore Decatur. In July of the same year, at the par- 
ticular request of Decatur, he was promoted to the rank of 
master-commandant, and in the following month was ap- 
pointed to the command of the sloop-of-war Peacock, the 
vessel in which his fortune conducted him to victory and to 
gbry. The following is an extract of an official letter from 



COMMODORE WARRINGTON. 287 

Captain Warrington to the Secretary of the Navy, dated U. 
S. sloop Peacock, at sea, 29th April, 1814. He says, " We 
have this morning captured, after an action of forty-two 
mimites, his majesty's brig Epervier, rating and mounting 
eighteen thirty -two pound carronades, with one hundred and 
twenty-eight men, of whom eight w^ere killed and thirteen 
w^ounded. Among the latter is her first lieutenant, who has 
lost an arm and received a severe splinter wound on the hip. 
Not a man in the Peacock was killed, and only two wounded ; 
neither dangerously so. The fate of the Epervier would 
have been determined in much less time, but for the circum- 
stance of our foreyard being totally disabled by two round 
shot in the starboard quarter, from her first broadside, which 
entirely deprived us of the use of our fore and fore-top sails, 
and compelled us to keep the ship large throughout the re- 
mainder of the action. This, with a few topmast and top- 
gallant backstays cut away, a few shot through our sails, is 
the only injury the Peacock has sustained. Not a round 
shot touched our hull ; our masts and spars are as sound as 
ever. When the enemy struck he had five feet water in his 
hold, his main-topmast was over the side, his main-boom 
shot away, his foremast cut nearly in two, and tottering; 
his fore-rigging and stays shot aw^ay, his bowsprit badly 
wounded and forty-five shot holes in his hull, twenty of 
which were within a foot of his water-line. By great ex- 
ertion we got her in sailing order just as the dark came on. In 
fifteen minutes after the enemy struck, the Peacock was ready 
for another action, in every respect but her foreyard, which 
was sent down, fished, and had the foresail set again in forty- 
five minutes ; such was the spirit and activity of our gallant 
crew. The Epervier had under her convoy an English brig, 
a Russian and a Spanish ship, which all hauled their wind 
and stood to the E. N. E. I had determined upon pursuing 



288 roM:\ioDORE warrington. 

the former, but found that it would not answer to leave our 
prize in her then crippled state, and the more particnlarly so, 
as we found she had one hundred and twenty thousand dol- 
lars in specie, which we soon transferred to the Peacock. 
*' I have the honor, &c. 

"L. Warrington." 

It is a fact, then, which no candid seaman will venture to 
deny, that, taking into consideration the nature of the action, 
one hundred and twenty-eight men — the complement of the 
Epervier when the conflict commenced — were capable of de- 
fending her, and annoying their enemy with as much effect as 
one hundred and forty-eight could have done — the complement 
in full of the crew of the Peacock. The o-allant Warrington, 
therefore, achieved his victory with triumphant facility ; not 
because he had thirty men and one fighting gun more than his 
enemy, but because he was himself superior to the British 
captain in skill, and his officers and crew superior to their 
opponents in firmness and gunnery. 

Congress ordered a gold medal {see Plate XIII.) to be struck 
and presented to "Captain Lewis Warrington, of Virginia, 
commander of the sloop-of-war Peacock, for the capture of 
the British brig L'Epervier, Captain Wales, April 29th, 1814." 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Capture of the British brig L'Epervier. 
Device. — Bust of Captain Warrington. 
Legend. — Ludovicus Warrington dux navalis Amer. 
Reverse. — Two ships engaged ; the topmast of one shot off. 
Legend. — Pro patria paratus aut vincere aut mori. 
Exergue. — Inter Peacock nav. Ameri. et Epervier nav. 
Aug. die 29th March, 1814. 





40 





CAPTAIN JOHNSTON BLAKELEY. 



Johnston Blakeley was born at the village of Seaford, in 
tlie county of Down, Ireland, in the month of October, 1781. 
At the age of two years, his father, John Blakeley, emigrated 
to this country, and soon after his arrival settled in Charleston, 
South Carolina. Not meeting with the encouragement he 
expected, he removed, with his family, to Wilmington, North 
Carolina, in hopes of improving his business. Soon after his 
establishment at this place, Mr. Blakeley was deprived of his 
wife, and all his children, except his son Johnston. 

Ascribing these successive and painful losses to the un- 
healthy climate, which was considered peculiarly unfavorable 
to children, he was induced to send his only surviving son to 
New York, wdth a view to the preservation of his health, and 
to afford him an opportunity of acquiring an education. In 
the year 1790, Johnston was sent to that city and^ confided to 
the care of Mr. Hoope, a respectable merchant and very old 
friend of his father. After attentively pursuing his studies 
in New York, for five years, he returned to Wilmington, in 
37 



290 CAPTAIN JOHNSTON BLAKELEY. 

order to complete his education at the university of Chapel 
Hill, in that state. Before Johnston had been one year in this 
institution he had the misfortune to lose his father, and was 
now without a single relative in this country, to whom he 
could look for advice, or protection, or assistance, which made 
it necessary for him to choose a guardian. In this choice, he 
was singularly fortunate in the selection of Mr. Jones, an 
eminent lawyer of Wilmington, who most tenderly and gene- 
rously supplied the place of a father. 

With occasional intermissions, he remained at college till 
the year 1799, when by some misfortune, he was deprived of 
the support derived from his father, and compelled to relinquish 
his studies at the university, as well as his intention of prac- 
tising the law. 

Having long had a predilection for a naval life, which, how- 
ever, he had from his affection to his only parent, and with a 
self-denial worthy of imitation, concealed from him, he solicited, 
and through the friendly exertions of Mr. Jones, obtained a 
midshipman's warrant, in the year 1800. Mr. Jones, in the 
interim, being anxious that his young ward should fulfil the 
wishes of his deceased parent, kindly offered to receive him as 
a member of his family, and afford him every facility in his 
power to complete his legal studies. Johnston, unwilling to 
accumulate obligations he might never be able to repay, and 
stimulated by a clear perception of the line of life he believed 
nature had marked out for him, declined this generous offer. 

In every subsequent situation, he retained and demonstrated 
the most grateful recollection of the friendship of Mr. Jones, 
and to the end of his life acknowledged him as his benefactor. 

The gentleman who kindly furnished materials for this 
biography writes thus: "As anything which illustrates the 
character of so much departed worth, especially when the 



CAPTAIN JOHNSTON BLAKELEY. 291 

qualities of the heart are so well calculated to excite our ad- 
miration, cannot but be interesting, I have furnished a few 
extracts from the letters of Captain Blakeley, written to me at 
various periods. Having been deprived of his father at an 
age when the desire of knowing something of his family was 
beginning to be felt, it was not in his power to gratify his in- 
quiries on that subject in a satisfactory manner, until May, 
1811, when I had the pleasure of opening a correspondence 
with him." In his first letter, dated on board the United 
States brig Enterprise, May 9th, 1811, he manifested his 
anxiety to obtain the wished for information, relative to his 
connections, in the following manner. 

" It would afford me great satisfaction to hear from you all 
the information you possess respecting my relations. 

" This trouble your goodness will excuse, when I inform 
you, that for fourteen years I have not beheld one being to 
whom I was bound by any tie of consanguinity." 

In another letter, written soon after, he observes — 

" The affection manifested by is truly grateful to my 

heart. Indeed, I begin already to feel for her a filial regard, 
and the more so, as it was my lot to lose my mother before I 
was sensible of a mother's tenderness." 

In reply to a letter, in which the solicitude for his profes- 
sional reputation was cordially expressed by the lady alluded 
to, he remarks — " Should I be fortunate enough to acquire any 
fame, my good old friend will make me debtor for more than 
half. With her prayers for my success can I doubt it ? I 
hope the last Blakeley who exists, will lay down his life ere 
he tarnish the reputation of those who have gone before him. 
My blessed father's memory is very dear to me, and I trust 
his son will never cast a reproach on it." In another, he ob- 
serves, " It is true, that in the war in which we are engaged, 
we have to contend under great disadvantages, but this should 



292 CAPTAIN JOHNSTON BLAKELEY. 

Stimulate to greater exertions, and we have already seen that 
onr enemy is not invincible/' In a letter, dated on board the 
Enterprise, the 29th of April, 1813, he observes — "Indepen- 
dent of personal feeling, I rejoice at the good fortune of the 
navy, believing it to be that description of force best adapted 
to the defence of this country. I confess the success of our 
sailors has been much greater than I had any reason to expect, 
taking into view the many difficulties they had to encounter. 
The charm which once seemed to have encircled the British 
navy, and rendered its very name formidable, appears to be 
fast dispelling." 

In a letter, dated Newbury port, 20th of January, 1814, he 
remarks — "I shall ever view as one of the most unfortunate 
events of my life having quitted the Enterprise at the moment 
I did. Had I remained in her a fortnight longer, my name 
might have been classed with those who stand so high. I 
cannot but consider it a mortifying circumstance that I left 
her but a few days before she fell in with the only enemy on 
this station with ^^•llich she could have creditably contended. 
I confess I felt heartily glad when I received my order to take 
command of the Wasp, conceiving that there was no hope of 
doing anything in the Enterprise. But wdien I heard of the 
contest of the latter ship, and witnessed the great delay in the 
equipment of the former, I had no cause to congratulate my- 
self. The Peacock has ere this spread her plumage to the 
wdnds, and the Frolic will soon take her revels on the ocean, 
but the Wasp will, I fear, remain for some time a dull, harm- 
less drone in the waters of her own country. Why this is, I 
am not permitted to inquire !" . These extracts will strike the 
reader as being strongly indicative of an amiable and heroic 
character. There is something touching in his gratitude to 
the good old lady who had manifested an interest in his suc- 
cesses. There is somethinsr noble in liis reference to tlie 



CAPTAIN JOHNSTON BLAKELEY. 293 

memory of his father, as a motive stimulating him in the path 
of honor; and there is something heroic, we think, in the un- 
affected manner in which he expresses his regret at having 
left the Enterprise. 

It is unnecessary to remark here, that it was in the action 
betw^een that vessel and the Boxer, that Burrows conquered, 
and lost his life. 

Yet Blakeley regretted he had not been in his place, either 
because he considered the sacrifice of life as a cheap price for 
the purchase of glory, or had forgotten, in his love of fame, 
that such a price had been paid. But he was determined be- 
fore long to acquire at least equal reputation, and to perish 
equally with the regrets of his country. After various ser- 
vices, Blakeley was appointed, in 1813, to the Wasp, with the 
rank of master commandant. 

In this vessel he fell in with his Britannic majesty's ship 
Reindeer, mounting sixteen twenty-four pound carronades, 
two long nine pounders, and a shifting twelve pound carron- 
ade ; and having a complement of one hundred and eighteen 
men. An action commenced, and, in nineteen minutes ended 
in the capture of the Reindeer, The loss of the Americans 
w^as twenty-one killed and wounded ; that of the enemy sixty- 
seven. The Reindeer was cut to pieces in such a manner as 
to render it impossible to save her, and she was accordingly 
set on fire. After this the Wasp put into L' Orient; from 
which port she sailed on the 27th of August, and four days 
afterwards, falling in with ten sail of merchantmen, under a 
convoy of a ship of the line, she succeeded in cutting off one 
of the vessels. On the evening of the first of September, 
1814, she fell in with four sail, two on each bow, but at con- 
siderable distances from each other. The first w^as the British 
brig-of-war Avon, which struck after a severe action; but 
Captain Blakeley could not take possession, as another enemy 



294 CAPTAIN JOHNSTON BLAKELEY. 

was fast approaching. This enemy, it seems, however, was 
called off to the assistance of the Avon, which was now sink- 
ing. The enemy reported that they had sunk the Wasp by 
the first broadside ; but she was afterwards spoken by a vessel 
off the Western Isles. After this we hear of her no more ; 
and thouQfh her fate is certain, the circumstances attendino- it 
are beyond the reach of discovery. The most general im- 
pression is that she was lost by one of those casualties inci- 
dent to the great deep, which have destroyed so many gallant 
vessels in a manner no one knows how ; for there are so many 
uncertainties connected with the unfathomable deep, that even 
imagination is bewildered in tracing the fate of those who are 
only known to have perished, because they are never more 
heard of or seen. 

Another impression is, that the Wasp, very shortly after 
being spoken off the Western Isles, had a severe engagement 
with a British frigate, which put into Lisbon in a shattered 
condition; and reported having had an action, in the night, 
with a vessel which they believed to have sunk. But what- 
ever may have been the fate of the generous Blakeley, this 
'much is certain, that he will, to use his own expression, " be 
classed amonsf those names that stand so hig-h." 

The lustre of his exploits, not less than the interest excited 
by those who remembered how, in his very boyhood, he was 
left, as he says, without a single being around him with whom 
he could claim kindred blood, — how, by his merit, he obtained 
friends, and conferred honor on that country which was not 
only his parent, but which has become the parent of his only 
child ; and how, last of all, he perished, is known only to 
One who rules the sea, and commands the troubled waves to 
"be still;" — has all given to his character, his history, his 
achievements and his fate, a romantic interest, marking the 
name of Blakeley for lasting and affectionate remembrance. 



CAPTAIN JOHNSTON BLAKELEY. 295 

Notwithstanding iiis professional duties, which were scarcely 
interrupted from the time of his obtaining a warrant, his lite- 
rary and scientific acquirements were very respectable ; and 
among his brother officers he was always considered a man of 
uncommon intellect, as well as great courage and professional 
skill. 

In December, 1813, he married Jane, the daughter of Mr. 
Hoope, of New York, the old and respected friend of his 
father ; by whom he has left an only daughter, who received 
one of the most noble and substantial tributes of national 
gratitude which has occurred in the history of this country. 

On the 27th of December, 1816, the legislature of North 
Carolina, after prescribing the destination of the sword they 
had voted to Captain Blakeley, " Resolved unanimously, 
that Captain Blakeley's child be educated at the expense of 
this state ; and that Mrs. Blakeley be requested to draw on 
the treasurer of this state, from time to time, for such sums of 
money as shall be required for the education of the said child." 
This, we repeat, is substantial gratitude. It is classical, too, 
and reminds us of those noble eras in the history of some of 
the illustrious states of Greece, when the offspring of those 
who had fallen for their country ,' became the children of that 
country whose cause had made them fatherless. It is in this 
way that our states may acquire a parental character, that 
will endear them still more to the hearts of the citizens ; that 
will inspire fathers to die in defence of their country, and be 
held up as an example to the world. 

It is in this way, too, that the different members of the 
Union may nobly indulge their local feelings, and display their 
honest homebred affections. Let them exemplify their desire 
to appropriate to themselves the fame of their distinguished 
citizens, by their peculiar care in honoring their memory and 
cherishing their helpless orphans. A gold medal {see Plate 



296 CAFfAIN JOHNSTON BLAKELEY. 

XIV.) was, by a A'ote of Congress, presented to Captain 
Blakeley, for the capture of the British sloop-of-vvar Rein- 
deer, Captain Manners, June 28th, 1814. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Capture of the Reindeer. 

Device. — Bust of Captain Blakeley. 

Legend. — Johnston Blakeley reip. fed. Amer. nav. Wasp, 
dux. 

Reverse. — Two ships engaged. 

Legend. — Eheu ! Bis victor. Patria tuate luget plauditq. 

Exergue. — Inter Wasp nav. Anieri. et Reindeer nav. Ang. 
28th June, 1814. 



CAPT. CHARLES STEWART. 



Charles Stewart was born in Philadelphia, on the 22d 
of July, 1776. Both his parents were natives of Ireland. 
His father came to America at an early age, and followed the 
business of a mariner in the merchants' service. Charles was 
the youngest of eight children, and before he was quite two 
years of age had the misfortune to lose his father ; his mother 
was now left in the midst of the Revolution with four children 
to provide for, and with but limited means, but being a woman 
of great energy and perseverance, she performed the arduous 
task with the care and affection of a devoted parent. At the 
age of thirteen, Charles, having a strong propensity for a sea- 
faring life, commenced that profession in the merchant service, 
in which he gradually rose, through the several grades, from 
a cabin boy to the commander of a merchant vessel, and was 
often entrusted with the sale and purchase of whole cargoes. 
In the early part of the year 1798, when there was a strong 
probability of a war with France, he was induced to oifer his 
services to his country. They were accepted ; and on the 
13th of March, 1798, he was appointed a lieutenant in the 
38 



298 CAPTAIN CHARLES STEWART. 

navy of the United States, under the command of Commo- 
dore Barry. In this ship he remained until 1800, when he 
was promoted to the command of the United States schooner 
Experiment, of twelve guns, to cruise on the West India 
station. On the 1st of September, in the same year, he fell 
in with the French schooner Deux Amis, (Two Friends,) of 
eight guns, which the Experiment engaged and captured 
without any loss, after an action of ten minutes. The follow- 
ing patriotic act will ever be remembered by his country. 
" Being short of water, he proceeded to Prince Rupert's Bay, 
in St. Domingo, and while there, his Britannic majesty's ship 
Alert, Captain Nash, accompanied by his majesty's ship Siam, 
Captain Matson, arrived and anchored; soon after Lieutenant 
Stewart received a letter from a citizen of the United States, 
named Amos Seeley, stating that he had been impressed on 
board tlie British ship Siam, and claiming an interference for 
his release. Although Lieutenant Stewart's power was in- 
adequate to enforce his demand for the surrender of Seeley, the 
two ships mounting twenty guns each, his patriotic heart could 
not withstand the appeal of his countryman, and, prompted 
by that chivalry and patriotism which were destined to blaze 
out in after life so gloriously, he resolved on opening a cor- 
respondence with the British captain for the release of Seeley. 
A polite note was addressed bj^ Lieutenant Stewart to the 
senior officer, conveying the request that Amos Seeley might 
be transferred from his majesty's ship Siam to the schooner 
under his command, that he might be restored to his family 
and his home. The British captain demurred, but in answer 
requested a personal interview, wherein he remarked to Lieu- 
tenant Stewart, that the war in which his majest}^ Avas engaged 
was arduous; that the difficulty of obtaining men for his 
numerous fleets and ships of war was great, and that he 
should encounter great hazard of being censured by his go- 



CAPTAIN CHARLES STEWART. 299 

vernment should he lessen liis force by yielding up his men ; 
urging, moreover, that the example would be injurious to the 
service. Lieutenant Stewart replied, in substance, that the 
British officers had too long trampled on the rights and liber- 
ties of his countrymen, and it was high time they had learned 
to respect the rights and persons of an independent nation ; 
that whatever power his majesty claimed over his own sub- 
jects, he had no right to exercise it over a people who had 
forced him to acknowledge their independence; that to resume 
this power was to belie his own solemn act, and practise a 
deception on the world. It was stated in answer, that Seeley 
was impressed in England as an Englishman ; to which Lieu- 
tenant Stewart replied: — "Then prove him so and I have 
done ; but if you cannot, I am prepared to prove him a citi- 
zen of the United States." Seeley was at once transferred to 
the schooner. Shortly after, while cruising under the lee of 
the Island of Bermuda, the Experiment discovered two ves- 
sels, one a brig of war, the other a three-masted schooner, 
both standing for her under a press of sail, and displaying 
English colors. The Experiment hove to, and the British 
signal of the day was made, which not being answered by the 
strange vessels by the time they were within gunshot, that 
signal was hauled down, and the Experiment stood away with 
all sail set. A chase was now commenced which lasted two 
hours, when, finding they were outsailed by the Experiment, 
they relinquished the pursuit, and bore away under easy sail, 
firing a gun to windward and hoisting French colors. Lieu- 
tenant Stewart now manoeuvred his schooner so as to bring 
her in the enemy's wake, to windward, when a chase was 
made on his part. At eight o'clock at night the Experiment 
closed with the three-masted schooner, which was the stern- 
most of the hostile vessels ; and having taken a position on 
her larboard quarter, opened a fire upon her from the great 



300 CAPTAIN CHARLES STEWART. 

guns and small arms, which in about five minutes compelled 
her to strike. She was immediately taken possession of, and 
proved to be the French schooner-of-war Diana, of fourteen 
guns and sixty-five men, commanded by M. Perandeau, Lieu- 
tenant de Vaisseau. The detention occasioned by removing 
the prisoners, enabled the brig-of-war to escape. She mounted, 
as was afterwards learned, eighteen guns, and had a crew of 
one hundred and twenty men. The Experiment proceeded 
to St. Christopher's with her prize. During this important 
cruise, the Experiment re-captured several American vessels, 
sometimes as many as two or three in a day, and thus rescued 
American property to an immense amount. 

Accounts now arrived of peace having been made with the 
French republic ; the Experiment was thereupon sent from 
Martinique to the Island of St. Thomas, and from thence to 
Curacoa, to look for the United States brig Pickering and 
frigate Insurgent, but nothing could be heard of those vessels 
at that place ; they had both foundered in the equinoxial gale, 
with a store-ship under their care, and all hands perished. On 
leaving Curacoa, the Experiment proceeded to Norfolk, Vir- 
ginia, to be put out of commission. 

On her passage thither, she discovered a vessel in distress, 
near the Island of Saona, at the east end of Hispaniola ; and 
had the good fortune to rescue from the jaws of death, about 
sixty persons who were on board of her. They consisted 
chiefly of families of the most respectable inhabitants of St. 
Domingo, flying from the siege of that city by the blacks. 
The persons thus saved from destruction had remained two 
days without any nourishment, on a small part of the quarter- 
deck of their vessel, which had struck upon a rock that went 
through her bottom and fixed her to the reef; the greatest part 
of her being under water. They were placed in safety on 
board of the Experiment, with their plate and other valuables. 



CAPTAIN CHARLES STEWART. 301 

which the sailors had recovered by diving into the hold of the 
wreck, notwithstanding the roughness of the sea. They were 
soon restored in safety to their friends in St. Domingo. 

They, and the inhabitants of that city in general, expressed 
to the officers and crew of the Experiment their most grateful 
thanks, showed them every possible civility and attention, and 
furnished them with fruits and all kinds of stock which the 
island afforded in such profusion, that much of the supply 
was obliged to be returned. Soon after Lieutenant Stewart's 
return to the United States, he was appointed to the command 
of, and to superintend the equipment of the brig Siren for the 
Mediterranean service ; so much activity was employed in fit- 
ting her out that she was completely coppered in ten hours. 
After convoying some merchant-vessels, and conveying the 
naval consular presents to Algiers, she proceeded to Syracuse, 
in Sicily, the port appointed for the general rendezvous of the 
squadron. Here they heard of the capture of the frigate 
Philadelphia by the Tripolitans; and Lieutenant Stewart 
hastened with the brig Siren to aid the gallant Decatur in 
his victorious eiforts against these savages ; the particulars of 
which are given in the memoirs of those to which they belong • 
a victory which caused the pope to exclaim, " the Americans 
have done more for Christendom in one battle, than all Europe 
in a century." On the 17th of May, 1804, Lieutenant Stew- 
art was promoted to the rank of master and commander ; and 
on the 22d of April, 1806, he was promoted to the rank of cap- 
tain in the navy. The years of 1806 and 1807 lie was em- 
ployed in superintending the construction of gun-boats at 
New York, and was afterwards engaged in prosecuting mer- 
cantile enterprises to the East Indies, the Mediterranean and 
Adriatic. In 1812, on the prospect of a war with Great Bri- 
tain, he was appointed to the command of the frigate Constel- 
lation ; but as that ship required so much repairs, there was 



302 CAPTAIN CHARLES STEWART. 

little hope of getting her to sea before the beginning of 1S13. 
Captain Stewart, on the declaration of war, proceeded, to 
Washington, and projected an expedition for the Argus and 
Hornet. The President and Secretary of the Navy approved 
of it and appointed Captain Stewart to undertake its direc- 
tion. On his return to New- York, he found that those ves- 
sels had sailed with the squadron under the command of 
Commodore Rodgers; the project of course was abandoned. 
He, therefore resumed the command of the Constellation, and 
on the 4th of February, 1813, w^as anchored in Hampton 
Roads. Having learned that the enemy were off the Chesa- 
peake in great force, and presuming that they would soon be 
informed of her situation. Captain Stewart sent to Hampton, 
at midnight, for a Norfolk pilot, in order to be prepared for a 
retreat if it should become necessary. At seven o'clock the 
next morning, the enemy appeared with two ships of the line, 
three frigates, a brig and a schooner. No time was now to be 
lost. Captain Stewart got up his anchor, and there being no 
wind, and the ebb tide making, commenced kedging his ship 
towards Norfolk. He succeeded in getting her partly over 
the flats at Sewell's Point, when the tide had fallen so much 
that she took the ground. By this time the enemy were 
within three miles, when they were obliged to anchor. Cap- 
tain Stewart, apprehensive that they w^ould kedge up one of 
their line-of-battle ships, pressed all the craft he could lay 
hold of, unloaded his frigate of every thing that could be 
removed, and made preparations for burning her, in the last 
extremity. He sent to Norfolk for the gun-boats to assist him, 
but such was their condition that none of them could be sent 
to him. 

As the enemy lay quiet for the want of wind, until the 
flood-tide made, Captain Stewart continued lightening the 
ship. At the first quarter she floated. He then sent off" the 



CAPTAIN CHARLES STEWART. 303 

boats with a pilot to station them on the different shoals w^ith 
lights ; and with these precautions he was enabled to get the 
ship up to Norfolk in the night, through a difficult channel. 
Her safe retreat diffused universal joy among the inhabitants 
of that city, to whose protection she afterwards greatly con- 
tributed. A division of gun-boats was put in condition for 
service, and manned from her crew. By this means the com- 
munication with James' river and Hampton was kept open, 
and every facility afforded to the transportation of the troops 
to their different stations. Captain Stewart seeing that there 
was hardly a possibility of getting the Constellation to sea, 
applied for and obtained in June, 1813, the command of the 
frigate Constitution, then vacant by the appointment of Com- 
modore Bainbridge to the superintendence of the navy yard 
at Boston. On the 30th of December, in the same year, the 
Constitution proceeded to sea from Boston harbor, although it 
was then blockaded by seven ships-of-war. During this cruise 
she captured the British schooner-of-war Picton, of sixteen 
guns, together with a letter -of-marque ship under her convoy; 
the briof Catharine and schooner Phoenix, and chased a British 
frigate, supposed to be the La Pique, in the Mona passage. 
On the 4th of April, 1814, she returned to Boston Bay, and 
was chased into Marblehead by two of the enemy's heavy 
frigates. La Nymphe and Junon. In December, 1814, she 
proceeded on her second cruise under the command of Cap- 
tain Stewart ; and on the 24th of the same month, she cap- 
tured and destroyed the brig Lord Nelson. She cruised off 
Cape Finisterre, the rock of Lisbon, and the Madeiras, with- 
out meeting with anything except a merchant ship from the 
river Platte; but on the 20th of February, 1815, at two o'clock 
in the afternoon, two ships were discovered to leeward. Chase 
was given immediately to one of those vessels, which was 
several miles to windward of the other, for the purpose of 



304 CAPTAIN CHARLES STEWART. 

cutting her off from her consort, but without effect ; for at 
sunset they formed a junction and prepared to receive the 
Constitution. 

She soon got alongside of them, and commenced the action, 
which was kept up with considerable vivacity on the part of 
the enemy, for about forty minutes, w^hen the headmost ship 
bore away, and the sternmost struck her flag. The latter, 
which proved to be his Britannic Majesty's ship Cyane, rated 
at twenty and mounting thirty-four guns, was taken posses- 
sion of, and her consort was pursued without delay. She too, 
the Levant of twenty-one guns, was compelled to surrender, 
after exchanging^ broadsides. In these actions, the Constitu- 
tion had three men killed and thirteen wounded. The British 
ships having in all thirty-five killed and forty-two wounded. 
Captain Stewart proceeded with these prizes to the Island of 
St. Jago, one of the Cape de Verd islands, with a view to di- 
vest his ship of the numerous prisoners, consisting of officers, 
seamen, and marines of both ships of the enemy, amounting 
to nearly four hundred. While making arrangements for 
dispatching them at Port Praya, for Barbadoes, the British 
squadron, consisting of the ships-of-war the Acasta, of fifty 
guns, the Newcastle of sixty-four guns, and the Leander of 
sixty-four guns, under the command of Sir George Collier, 
reached his position under the cover of a thick fog. Notwith- 
standing their near approach, Captain Stewart determined to 
retreat, and immediately the Constitution and her prizes cut 
their cables and crowded sail to escape. He was fortunate in 
being able, by his skillful management and manoeuvres, to save 
from their grasp his favorite frigate Constitution, and the 
Cyane. The Levant was captured by the squadron and sent 
to Barbadoes. 

After this escape, he proceeded with the Constitution to 
Maranam, in the Brazils, and landed the prisoners, refreshed 



CAPTAIN CHARLES STEWART. 305 

his crews, refitted his vessel, and returned to Boston, where 
he and his officers were received witli the usual courtesies by 
their fellow citizens. On his way through New York, the 
common council honored Captain Stewart with the freedom 
of the city in a gold box, and extended towards him and his 
officers the courteous hospitalities of that great city, by a 
public dinner. The legislature of Pennsylvania voted him 
their thanks, and directed a gold-hilted sword to be presented 
to him. 

On the meeting of Congress, the assembled representatives 
of the nation passed a vote of thanks to Captain Stewart, his 
officers, and crew ; and resolved that a suitable gold medal 
{See Plate XIV.) commemorative of that brilliant event, the 
capture of the two British ships-of-war, the Cyane and Levant, 
by the Constitution, should be presented to Captain Stewart, 
in testimony of the sense they entertained of his gallantry 
and that of his officers, seamen, and marines, under his com- 
mand on that occasion. The war with Great Britain having 
terminated, the Constitution was put out of commission, and 
laid up in ordinary. 

In 1816, Captain Stewart took command of the Franklin 
ship of the line, of seventy -four guns, and in 1817, she was 
fitted ou.t at Philadelphia as a flag ship and directed to sail for 
England, to convey the Hon. Richard Rush as minister to the 
court of Great Britain, after which the Franklin proceeded to 
the Mediterranean, and Captain Stewart took command of 
the forces of the United States in that sea. Since our country 
has been at peace, he has been alternately employed either in 
command of squadrons abroad, or in superintending the navy 
at home. Such is the brief outline of the life of this gallant 
officer, one of Pennsylvania's cherished sons, who has con- 
tributed his services and his counsels for half a century, for 

the protection of our commerce and for the glory of the navy, 
39 



306 CAPTAIN CHARLES STEWART. 

Long may he live to serve his country and wear the laurels 
w^liich victory and fame have enwreathed for his brow. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE IMEDAL. 

Occasion. — Capture of the Cyane and Levant. 

Device. — A bust of Captain Stewart. 

Legend. — Carolus Stew^art navis Ameri. Constitution dux. 

Reverse. — Two ships closely engaged; a third at a little 
distance. 

Legend. — Una victoriam eripiut ratibus binis. 

Exergue. — Inter Constitu. nav. Ameri. et Levant et Cyane 
nav. Ang. die 20th Feb. 1815. 



CAPTAIN JAMES BIDDLE. 



James Biddle, the subject of this memoir, is the son of 
the late Charles Biddle, Esquire, of Philadelphia, and was 
born in that city on the 18th of February, 1783. He was 
educated in the University of Pennsylvania, where he ac- 
quired a taste for literature, which, in the intervals of profes- 
sional duty, has been most assiduously cultivated. 

In the year 1800, the American navy offered the most flat- 
tering prospects to the aspiring youth of our country. Its 
fame acquired by the war with France was rapidly increasing. 
The brilliant success of Captain Truxtun, in his victory with 
the French frigates Insurgente and Vengeance, gave additional 
eclat to the navy. 

To this distinguished commander, Mr. Biddle entrusted the 
care of his two sons, James and Edward, who, on obtaining 
midshipmen's warrants, were attached to the frigate President, 
fitting for the West Indies. The cessation of hostilities with 
France brought the frigate again to the ITnited States after a 
much shorter cruise than was intended, but which was ren- 
dered memorable by the melancholy death of Mr. Edward 



308 CAPTAIN JAMES BIDDLE. 

Biddle, who died at sea of a fever after an illness of a few 
days. Early in 1802, James Biddle sailed to the Mediterra- 
nean, in the frigate Constellation, Captain Murray, to protect 
American commerce against Tripolitan cruisers. This gave 
our young officer valuable opportunities of renewing his ac- 
quaintance with classic writers, and remains of antiquity, ob- 
tained by him during his studies at the University, and which 
were to him an additional fund of instruction and gratification. 
The Constellation returned home in 1803, and Mr. Biddle was 
transferred to the frigate Philadelphia, Captain Bainbridge, 
and returned again to the Mediterranean, where this unfortu- 
nate ship struck upon a rock, and was lost. 

When all efforts to get the Philadelphia afloat were found 
to be unavailing. Lieutenant Porter and Midshipman Biddle 
were dispatched to the commander to inform him of the acci- 
dent. As they approached the Tripolitan gun-boats, they 
were fired upon and ordered to surrender. Porter and Biddle 
were prepared to deliver up their swords, but this ceremony 
was dispensed with by the savage Tripolitans; twenty of 
whom, of the most ferocious appearance, armed with sabres, 
pistols, and muskets, jumped into the boat, and at once com- 
menced their work of insult and plunder. Two of them 
snatched Biddle's sword, pulled off his coat, and began to fight 
for it, when, to decide their dispute, they returned it to him. 

His cravat was violently torn from his neck, his waistcoat 
and shirt torn open, in search for valuables that might be con- 
cealed about his person. They searched all his pockets, m^i 
took all his papers and money, except twenty dollars in gold, 
which he had slipped into his boot and thereby secured. The 
officers and crew were then carried on shore, conducted amidst 
the shouts and acclamations of a barbarous rabble to the palace 
gates, and ushered into the presence of the bashaw, who, seated 
in state, received them in the audience chamber; and after 



CAPTAIN JAMES BIDDLE. 309 

asking a variety of questions about the American squadron, 
they were conducted to the place assigned for safe keeping. 

There is no subject which the imagination can present to 
us more full of horror than that of slavery among the barba- 
rians of Africa. In this situation, ignorant of the fate of their 
companions, and doubtful of their own, they continued nine- 
teen months in close and rigorous confinement, in want of 
pure air, exercise, and employment, with occasional threats by 
the bashaw of his vengeance ; circumstances calculated to im- 
pair the health and break the spirits of the strongest and most 
resolute. Yet happily they preserved their health and their 
spirits unbroken. 

They considered it a point of honor to be firm and cheerful, 
to disregard the threats of the barbarians, and to sustain by 
an unconquerable fortitude the character of their country. In 
consequence of the peace with Tripoli, in the month of Septem- 
ber, 1805, they were liberated, and Captain Bainbridge and 
Midshipman Biddle, who had not separated since the loss of 
the frigate, returned together to Philadelphia. Upon the re- 
lease of Mr. Biddle, he was promoted to a lieutenancy, and after 
remaining at home but a few weeks, he was ordered to the 
command of one of the gim-boats, then lying at Charleston, 
South Carolina, but finding this service both inactive and irk- 
some, he obtained an appointment as second lieutenant in the 
frigate President, under the command of his friend Captain 
Bainbridge. In this, and other similar situations, he had op- 
portunities to display a character of firmness and decision, 
jealous of personal honor, and aspiring to deeds of enterprise 
and of fame. In 1811 he sailed as bearer of dispatches from 
our government to the American minister in France, and re- 
mained in Paris nearly four months, during which he was 
presented to the Emperor Napoleon, and attended all the 
parties given at tlie Tuileries. 



310 CAPTAIN JAMES BIDDLE. 

Lieutenant Biddle had but recently returned from France, 
when the war was declared between the United States and 
Great Britain. He at once availed himself of the first chance 
of service, and accordingly volunteered his services to Commo- 
dore Rodgers,wlio had command of the frigate President, but 
unfortunately the number of officers was complete before he 
made application. But his disappointment was soon relieved 
by the arrival of the sloop-of-war Wasp, Captain Jones, with 
dispatches from France; this vessel had not her full comple- 
ment of officers, and Lieutenant Biddle immediately procured 
an order to join her as first lieutenant. 

The Wasp went to sea on the 13th of October, 1812, and 
on the 18th fell in with six sail of the line of British mer- 
chant vessels under convoy of the Frolic sloop-of-war. An 
attack was made, and a heavy fire of cannon and musketry 
opened upon them, wdiich was quickly returned by the Wasp 
without interruption. Amidst this severe contest the two 
vessels struck each other with a tremendous crash, the jib- 
boom of the Frolic coming between the main and mizzen rig- 
ging of the Wasp, directly over the heads of Captain Jones 
and Lieutenant Biddle ; this position gave the Wasp an op- 
portunity of sweeping the deck of the Frolic, which was done 
by two guns of the 'Wasp. Lieutenant Biddle jumped on the 
bowsprit and boarded her, and to his svirprise found that the 
only persons on deck were the commander and two other offi- 
cers, and a seaman at the wheel. Upon seeing Lieutenant 
Biddle, these officers threw down their swords and surren- 
dered, and, as their colors were still flying, he hauled them 
down himself, and took possession of the Frolic in forty-three 
minutes after the first fire. Soon after the action Biddle was 
ordered by Captain Jones to make his way with the prize to 
a southern port of the United States, but he had not proceeded 
far when a large ship hove in sight, to windward, which proved 



CAPTAIN JAMES BIDDLE. 311 

to be the Poictiers, a British seventy-four, and as the Frolic 
was totally dismasted, and the Wasp so disabled in her rigging 
and sails as to be incapable of escaping immediately, both 
vessels were taken by the Poictiers. Captain Jones and his 
officers were carried to Bermuda, and after a short detention 
there, were released upon their parole, and returned to the 
United States. The very efficient part borne by Lieutenant 
Biddle in this memorable action, is related in the followinir 
extract from the official letter of Captain Jones. " Lieutenant 
Biddle' s active conduct contributed much to our success, by 
the exact attention paid to every department during the en- 
gagement, and the animating example he affiDrded the crew 
by his intrepidity." 

The legislature of Pennsylvania voted Lieutenant Biddle a 
sword, and a testimonial still more grateful to his feelings was 
offered to him by a number of highly respectable gentlemen of 
Philadelphia, in a letter addressed to him, of which the follow- 
ing is an extract : — " Whilst your country confers upon you 
those distinguished marks of approbation which are ever due 
to merit and valor, a number of the personal friends and com- 
panions of your youth are desirous of attesting to you their 
esteem, and of perpetuating the remembrance of your private 
worth. With this view they have directed us, as their com- 
mittee, to present to you in their name, a silver urn, bearing 
upon it an appropriate inscription, and a representation of the 
action between the Wasp and the Frolic, in which you so 
conspicuously assisted to exalt the naval character of our 
country." 

Shortly after. Lieutenant Biddle was promoted to the rank 
of master-commandant, and received command of the Hornet 
sloop-of-war. This ship, after cruising for some time in the 
vicinity of New York and New London, was attached to the 



312 CAPTAIN JAMES BIDDLE. 

command of Commodore Decatm', destined for a cruise to the 
East Indies. 

On the third day after the sailing of this squadron, the 
Hornet separated in chase of a vessel which proved to be a 
Portuguese brig, and then proceeded singly towards the Island 
of Tristan d'Acunha, which was the first place of rendezvous 
for the squadron. On the passage she chased and boarded 
every vessel that came in sight. On the morning of the 
23d of March, 1815, when about to anchor off the north end 
of that island, a sail was descried to the southward and east- 
ward. The Hornet made sail immediately, and hove to for 
her to come down. When she had come down and shortened 
sail, she took in her steering sails in a very clumsy manner^ 
purposely to deceive the Hornet, and came down stem on as 
near as possible, lest the Hornet siiould perceive her broadside 
and run. "At forty minutes past one, P. M.," says Captain 
Biddle's official letter, " being nearly within musket-shot dis- 
tance, she hauled her wind on the starboard tack, hoisted 
English colors and fired a gun. We immediately luffed to, 
hoisted our ensign, and gave the enemy a broadside. The 
action being thus commenced, a quick and well-directed fire 
was kept up from this ship, the enemy gradually drifting 
nearer to us, when at fifty-five minutes past one he bore up 
apparently to run us on board. Expecting he would certainly 
board us, I ordered every officer and man to the quarter-deck, 
to be ready to repel the boarders if an attempt was made. 
The enemy's bowsprit came between our main and mizzen 
rigging on our starboard side, affording him an opportunity to 
board us, if such was his design ; but no attempt was made. 
There was a considerable swell, and as the sea lifted us ahead, 
the enemy's bowsprit carried away our mizzen shrouds, stern- 
davits and spanker-boom, and he hung upon our larboard 
quarter. At this moment an officer, who was afterwards re- 



CAPTAIN JAMES BIDDLE. 313 

cognized to be Mr. McDonald, the first lieutenant and the 
then commanding officer, called out that they had surrendered. 
I directed the marines and musketry men to cease firing, and 
while on the tafferel, asking if they had surrendered, I received 
a wound in the neck. The enemy again called out that he 
had surrendered. It was with difficulty I could restrain my 
crew from firing into him again, as they persisted he had 
fired into us after having surrendered. From the firing 
of the first gun to the last time the enemy cried out he 
had surrendered, was exactly twenty-two minutes by tlie 
watch. She proved to be his Britannic majesty's brig Pen- 
guin, mounting sixteen thirty-two pound carronades, two long 
twelves, a twelve pound carronade on the top-gallant fore- 
castle, with swivels on the capstan and in the tops. She had 
a spare port forward so as to fight both her long guns of a 
side. The enemy acknowledge a complement of one hun- 
dred and thirty-two men, twelve of them supernumerary 
marines, from the Medway seventy-four. They acknowledge 
also a loss of fourteen killed and twenty-eight wounded ; but 
Mr. Mayo, who was in charge of the prize, assures me that 
the number of killed was certainly greater." Among the 
killed of the Penguin, was Captain Dickinson, her com- 
mander, who is represented to have been a deserving and 
favorite officer. The Hornet had but one man killed and 
eleven wounded. Among the wounded were Captain Biddle 
severely, and McConner, the first lieutenant, dangerously. It 
is always gratifying to notice the attachment of our brave 
tars to their commanders. Captain Biddle had his face much 
disfigured by being struck twice with splinters, and, when he 
received the wound in tlie neck, from which the blood flowed 
profusely, some of the crew insisted upon his retiring below 
for the purpose of having it dressed, two of whom seized him 
in their arms for that purpose, so that he could scarcely extri- 
40 



314 CAPTAIN JAMES BIDDLE. 

cate himself from them ; hut finding he was determined to re- 
main on the deck, one of them stript off his shirt, tore it into 
strips, and almost hy force tied it tightly ahout Captain Biddle's 
neck to prevent his hleeding. Captain Biddle would not 
have his own wound dressed until after all his men had theirs 
dressed. 

Captain Biddle received his wound in the neck after the 
enemy had surrendered. He was standing upon the tafferel, 
and had ordered the musketry not to fire, when one of his 
officers called out to iiim that there was a man taking aim at 
him. Captain Biddle's back being towards the officer, he did 
not hear this, but two of the marines perceiving the fellow 
taking aim at their commander, fired at him, and he fell dead 
the instant after he had discharged his piece. He was not 
more llian ten or twelve yards from Captain Biddle when he 
shot him ; the ball struck the chin directly in front with much 
force, and passing along the neck, tearing the flesh, went oft' 
behind through his cravat, waistcoat and coat collar. The 
Penguin being so completely riddled, her foremast and bow- 
sprit gone, and her mainmast so crippled as to be incapable of 
being secured, she was accordingly scuttled and destroyed. 
Shortly after, peace with Great Britain was restored, and 
Captain Biddle returned to New York, much indisposed and 
debilitated by his wound. During his absence he had been 
promoted to the rank of post-captain. On his return, a pub- 
lic dinner was given to him by the citizens of New York, and 
a service of plate presented to him by the citizens of Phila- 
delphia. It has been the distinguishing character of this 
gentleman, to exert in the public service an unwearied activity 
and an ardent enterprise, which surmounted every obstacle 
and commanded the events of his life. He was a party to 
two of the most decisive actions of the war, in which his 
persevering spirit led him forward in spite of every untoward 



CAPTAIN JAMES BIDDLE. 315 

event in the path of glory, and crowned his exertions with 
success. The capture of the FroUc by the Wasp, not only 
broke the charm of British naval superiority, but showed a 
decided superiority in favor of America. The capture of the 
Penguin was not less decisive ; and if, at the commencement 
of the war, the British navy was surprised, from habits of 
security and contempt for their enemies, they had, before the 
victory of the Hornet, learned their error and corrected their 
conduct. In this instance, even the enemy was utterly unable 
to frame an apology for his defeat, since he had come out pre- 
pared, and with unusual means to pursue and capture an 
American ship-of-war. Congress voted a gold medal {see 
Plate XIV.) and the thanks of that body to Captain James 
Biddle, commander of the sloop-of-war Hornet, for the cap- 
ture of the brig Penguin, Captain Dickinson, in twenty-two 
minutes, March 23, 1815. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL. 

Occasion. — Capture of the brig Penguin. 

Device. — Bust of Captain Biddle. 

Legend. — The Congress of the U. S. to Capt. James Bid- 
dle for his gallantry, good conduct and services. 

Reverse. — Two vessels engaged : the Peak of Tristan 
d'Acunha in sight. 

Legend. — Capture of the British brig Penguin by the 
U. S. ship Hornet. 

Exergue.— Off Tristan d'Acunha, March 23d, 1815. 



THE END, 



